30 Days
by Miss Starfire
Summary: Usually, a two-week notice is acceptable at Stark Industries; unless, of course, you're the personal assistant to Tony Stark.
1. Prologue

**Summary:** Usually, a two-week notice is acceptable at Stark Industries; unless, of course, you're the personal assistant to Tony Stark.

**A/N:** _Man in a Can_ hasn't escaped my mind, but after watching IM and IM2 yesterday for inspiration, a new plot bunny was born. Usual disclaimers apply regarding the lack of ownership of any of these characters or any invention of Disney/Marvel. As some of you have learned, standard warnings apply to all my stories: foul language, gory scenes, drama, angst and cliffies.

Enjoy!

* * *

**30 DAYS**

**Prologue**

He stared down at their intertwined hands, thinking hard about his next words. The only perfectly capable personal assistant he had ever had, had just resigned her post –and going through with it, this time. A short week after her unprecedentedly shocking appointing as CEO of Stark Industries –and after the drama that followed this decision, Virginia "Pepper" Potts had had just about enough of this.

"You deserve better," was all he could muster immediately after her sudden outburst. It was not as if he could not think of better things to say to her; in fact, he could think of deep confessions of love and affection he could list to her for days. Yet, the short sentence he had just uttered was simply all he could think of to keep her from jumping off the roof he had just landed them on out of pure frustration with him.

"Well." She said, not truly facing him just yet as she also stared down at their joined hands, the smallest pang of regret at her decision almost making her want to take back her words.

"You've taken such good care of me," he continued, now staring deeply into her eyes, hoping that she would read his true intentions as easily as she always had in the past. This was the beauty of their relationship; they could have entire conversations with just the use of their eyes.

"Been in a tough spot, and you got me through it, so…right?"

"Thank you."

"Yeah."

"Thank you, for understanding." She told him, and she meant it.

"Yeah-yeah, but…" he began, taking in a deep breath and letting go of her hand. He stared down at the chaos that had once been the Stark Expo, looking down at the spot that would have been her grave if he had been just a second too late to rescue her.

_She does deserve better than being in constant danger around me._

"Tony?" she called out to him, alternating from staring at his almost lost gaze and the mess on the ground.

"Yeah," he said, returning his attention to her, "uhm…I-I just want to ask for one last favor before you leave."

"Clean up?" she asked, already having expecting this task to be assigned to her to complete before she left, and she was more than willing to comply.

"Well, that goes without saying. I don't know if you had plans or anything, but, would you..._could_ you, make your resignation effective in 30 days?"

Pepper narrowed her eyes at him. Had he been any other employer, she would have accepted the request with no questions asked. It was customary to give a two-week notice for most positions, and a 30-day+ notice was reserved to high executives to assure all loose ends were tied before they left. She was far from being an executive, so this rule did not apply to her, and he knew it.

"30 days? What for? You're not changing my mind, Stark, not again."

Tony immediately raised his hands in the air. "No, no, I think I've fucked up your life long enough. I just want the transition to be as smooth as possible, and I hope you won't mind training your replacement. Is that…OK?"

Pepper allowed herself to relax a little, almost buying into his reasoning. She knew damn well that he probably had a plan up his sleeve to keep her around, but he did have a point that she owed her reputation, the company and _him_ that much.

"Alright, but at the first sign of funny business…"

"I will escort you out myself," he said, lowering his hands and giving her a decisive nod. "Besides, it's not as if we won't see each other anymore, right? You'll still come around, I hope?"

Pepper gave him a reassuring smile. She would be lying to herself if she said that she would not stay in touch. After over ten years of spending every day together, living through long working nights, cleaning up his messes and –more recently, patching him up after a mission, she had no right to say their relationship was nothing more than a professional one. She wanted to think that he also considered her a friend as much as she considered him to be hers. And, her betraying heart wanted to hope their connection could potentially offer much more.

"As long as you don't make me run your company anymore, I think I can spare an afternoon at your place. Besides, Jarvis needs to talk to a coherent person every now and then; constant madness cannot be good for his circuits."

Tony chuckled, even if the joke had been at his own expense. "That, and the fact that you still gotta teach me my social security number, Potts. You know what they say: it takes 30 days to build a habit."

Pepper gave him one of those show-stopping smiles he loved, making this conversation more difficult than it already was for him. He truly did not want to accept her resignation, but he also wanted the opportunity to show her that he wanted her, _needed_ her, more than just to ride his ass at work. If this was the only way he could continue the interrupted conversation they had at her office, then so be it.

_It takes 30 days to build a habit, or an addiction –might as well be an addiction to me._

* * *

**A/N:** Clearly, this takes place after IM2. I hope you buckle up because you're gonna be taken on a ride!


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**DAY 1**

After he had safely taken them both back to the ground, Pepper had helped Tony strip off his suit as much as they could without the robots. The moment she had seen the blood and bruises showering his body, she had insisted that they both needed to be checked up by the paramedics, if for nothing else other than for her to be able to sleep better at night. Surprisingly, he had not complained about her demand…_much_.

The _quick_ check-up had inevitably lead them to the hospital where the injured guests of the Expo had been taken, and after a quick blood test and some x-rays, both Pepper and Tony had made sure the almost-casualties of the Expo were taken care of and cleared of major harm.

The media had been all over the events, some praising and some criticizing the reactions of the company and its members, making Pepper gladder to know she would no longer be involved in such situations very soon.

This moment, almost 24 hours after the explosive end of the Expo, Pepper found herself sitting on the couch in Tony's living room, shamelessly barefoot and holding a half-drunk glass of mimosa in her hands. It was not common for her to drink on the job, but after all the work she had done overnight and the knowledge that her days as the most abused personal assistant in the corporate world were about to end, gave her the incentive she needed to break a few of her self-established rules.

She had yet to set foot at her place since leaving it almost two days ago but she would be heading back home as soon as Tony got out of the shower. She had noticed he had been acting unusual since accepting her resignation, and she attributed it to being part of his evil plan to keep her around.

As if on cue, the billionaire made his appearance in the living room, towel resting on his shoulders. He reached the couch and dropped his body next to hers, making the cushions shake for a second.

"Heat still going on, Potts?" he asked, noticing she was simultaneously watching three different news broadcasts on the big screen as he dried his hair with the towel.

"Nothing that we didn't already expect. It'll douse itself out when I announce my resignation."

Tony held back a frown at hearing her talk about the subject so flippantly, pulling the towel off his head and dropping it on the floor. It was as if she had been looking forward to leaving him for quite some time now, thus not affecting her as much as it was affecting him. Even though she had quit on him on more than a handful of occasions, he had always been able to reel her back in, calling her bluff every time. However, this time it seemed she was ready to truly pack her shit and go.

"When do you want to address the press?"

Pepper considered his question for a moment, not sure if an adequate time even existed to wait for. She had made her peace that her resignation would undoubtedly be linked to the failure of the Expo and any other recent shortcomings of the company, perhaps to the point of citing her seemingly inadequacy as CEO as a reflection of her professional life. She was not sure if it was the fact that she had reached the end of her rope, or the fact that she could always change careers, but the upcoming bad press was not of importance to her right now.

"No sense in delaying the inevitable. How about Monday afternoon?"

Tony eyed her for a second, trying to find any sign of remorse in her face. She was not giving out much information to him, verbally or otherwise, as to how she truly felt about placing such a stain on her reputation. It would be a long time until no one associated her with the almost downfall of Stark Industries, but she appeared as stoic with the fact as he had ever seen her.

"Whatever you're comfortable with, Pepper. I'll jump when you tell me to."

Pepper snickered, taking a big sip of her mimosa, effectively emptying the glass from its contents, licking the last traces of it from her lips with her tongue. "You know, Tony, it would've been nice if you'd had that willing attitude more often when I worked for you."

Tony looked away from her, unable to hold her gaze. Even if the tone in which she had said those words to him bordered on playful, the truthfulness behind them stabbed his chest. Would she have not jumped to resigning all those times if he had, for once, shown up to his meetings on time? Would she have been happier with her job if he had not been such an irresponsible ass to her most of the time?

"Well, Pep, think of it as character building. After working with me, you can defeat any professional obstacle that may come."

Pepper stared at him once more before standing up from the couch and expertly sliding her feet into her waiting heels. She walked up to the kitchen and placed the empty glass inside the dishwasher, and picked up her purse from the counter on her way back to the living room.

"I'm leaving, Tony," she said to him, quickly and lightly squeezing his shoulder as she walked to the exit. "I'll see you Monday."

"Pepper?"

His voice stopped her in her tracks, slowly turning around just in time to feel the strength of his arms around her, burying his face on her neck and taking in a deep breath that made her skin tingle.

"Tony?" she questioned his intentions but returned the embrace, nonetheless.

"I'm gonna miss you, Potts. It's been…great."

Pepper smiled even though he could not see her, increasing her grip on him for an instant before releasing him. He pulled back from her, losing himself in her blue and slightly moist eyes, the latter status reflecting his. He moved his head closer to hers and placed a quick kiss on her forehead, swallowing hard at the feeling of closure he felt. The act was not lost to her, and even though her immediate response would have involved chiding him for his unethical behavior, she decided that she would forgo her typical reaction just this once.

"I expect to see you at SI, Tony. Don't do anything stupid while I'm not around."

_ Like falling in love with my PA? Too late for that!_

He kept the thought to himself, deciding that a simple nod would suffice. With a last smile, Pepper turned around on her heels and headed without stopping out the door and into her car, driving away from the place that had become her second home.

**DAY 2**

Sunday morning found Pepper Potts dressed in loungewear on her couch, box of tissues in hand and crying over her favorite secret guilty pleasure: _Days of Our Lives_. She rarely had time to watch her favorite soap of all time, but thanks to the DVR she had recently acquired, she was able to schedule its recordings. Feeling the weight of the world off her shoulders, she could not think of a better way to spend the last day of normalcy she would have before her resignation announcement was made, than to cry over the drama that revolved around the life of Dr. Drake Ramoray.

Come the morrow, Pepper would have to deal with the countdown of her last days at SI, including the recruitment and training of her replacement. She knew Tony would decline any involvement in the process, so it was all on her. This, of course, was in addition to transferring the company back to Tony, and delegating her chores to other capable employees at SI. She wanted to make sure she was not missed after she left in hopes that Tony would not call her in the middle of the night with an emergency.

_Stop thinking about him! He will no longer be your responsibility!_

She scolded herself at allowing her mind to worry about her future former boss. She had made her decision already, and if she backed down now, it would only provide Tony with further proof that he could continue to change her mind for years to come –sucking her soul until it was dry. Truth was that she was not certain of what she wanted to do after her notice was up, but she knew that with the amount of savings she had in the bank, she could afford not to work for up to three years, if she really felt like it.

_I could travel. I could volunteer. I could do so many things…_

Or, she could sulk in her apartment at the realization that she had been stupid enough to fall in love with her boss. The last few months since he returned from his time in captivity had been difficult to her, for a long list of reasons. It had taken his almost permanent disappearance for her to accept to herself that what she felt for Tony was more than just attraction, and while she thought acceptance would eventually lead to resignation, the mixed signals he had been giving her only acerbated her.

The man was insufferable, always on the move and always surprising anyone around him with his sudden irrational actions. His cessation of bringing strange women to his home for one-night stands had marveled her, growing in her the faith that he was readying himself for her. His increased caresses, words of comfort and his new direction had only fortified the feelings she already had for him, despite his still-present jerk side. However, learning that he had kept from her the fact that he was on the verge of death had been the final blow her persona could take. She had thought they were in this together, for better or for worse, until death did them part…

Pepper snorted at the silly thought that had turned into a slap in the face in the form of wedding vows. The fact of the matter was that he had not trusted her with the truth. He had kept the grim details to himself, sharing them only with the members of S.H.I.E.L.D. over herself. He had known the organization for only a handful of months, and yet they knew more about him than she had been able to gather from him in ten years. Granted, that knowledge had been gathered by one of their spies, but Pepper felt she should have been told first.

_There you go, thinking about him again._

Could she blame herself for it?

_Yes, yes I can._

Her eyes returned to the screen, watching as Dr. Ramoray held the hand of his lover as she died in the hospital bed. The irony of it all being that the renowned doctor had been unable to save the one person he cared about the most in the world –at least until the next episode when he would surely sleep with another girl.

_Just like Tony would. _

"Dammit!"

Stopping the recording and turning off the devices, she turned to her side to grab her cell phone. Surprisingly, Tony had not called or texted her since last night, which was a miracle to say the least. Then again, he had just discovered a new element and his suit was in need of repairs, which translated to a very busy crazy scientist upgrading his favorite toy for days.

_How am I supposed to go through with this, if I already miss him?_

Only time would tell.

**DAY 3**

On Monday, Pepper was unnerved when she climbed into the limousine that waited for her outside her apartment complex, only to find a ready-to-go Tony Stark inside of it. She blinked at him several times, expecting the sight to be just an illusion. Yet, his lopsided smile and the scotch in his hand told her otherwise. She stared at Happy with wide eyes as the chauffeur turned on the vehicle and set it in motion, and she almost reached over to her boss to poke him with her fingers just to make sure he was truly there.

The reality of the situation became even more verily when he gripped her hand and kissed the back of it, setting it back on the seat as quickly and carefully as he had grabbed it.

"Good morning, Potts. Ready for another day?"

She opened her mouth to retort but the shock was slowly wearing off. She had not expected Tony to be up and about before her, and not in the good mood he seemed to be in. With no other good response, she nodded to him to acknowledge his greeting before diverting her eyes to the road. Usually, Happy would pick her up at her apartment and drive her to Tony's home, where she would spend an hour trying to drag him from bed –or whatever surface he had decided to deem usable for the night, and getting him ready for the day. In all her years of working for him, this was the first time _ever_ she had started the workday ahead of schedule thanks to him rather than _in spite_ of him.

Part of her felt relieved that his morning routine was not going to slow down the hectic day she anticipated, but another part of her felt insulted at the gesture. Was he playing games with her? Was he intending on trying to convince her to stay, after all? Why had he not had the gonads to meet her halfway and make her duties easier, way before today?

She pursed her lips to keep the angry words from coming out of her mouth, not wanting to ruin the good start of her day. She tried to push aside the contrasting feelings of anger, sadness and relief she felt within her, telling herself she needed to save her energy for the press conference that would announce her resignation from Stark Industries.

Tony seemed to pick up on her conflicting emotions; giving her the space she needed by keeping to himself during the ride to work. When the limousine parked by their exclusive entrance to the building, Tony was already two steps ahead of her, leaning forward and opening the door for her to exit. She mumbled a quick _thank you_ before heading out the door with Tony following close behind. It took every restraint she had in her to keep from looking behind her shoulder to face him.

Their private elevator made itself present an instant after they entered the back side of the building, boarding it and taking them to their offices on the 5th floor of the premises. The Headquarters of Stark Industries in California was not as grandeur as the fancy building in New York, as it served more the role of a giant workshop than a corporate offices building.

Without a word, Pepper exited the elevator as soon as the doors opened, and headed straight to her office –old office…_his_ office…

_Whatever._

The room was just as she had left it before she had headed to the Expo to witness the crash and burn that had been Hammer's weapons presentation, with the small exception of the obvious removal of the stack of Tony's personal belongings that had littered the corner of the office just a few days ago. Forcing his personal effects out of the office seemed so childish and irrelevant now.

_I shouldn't have made him take his stuff._

Regrets such as these were too late to feel; all she could do now was move forward with the new plan. It was not until Tony closed the door behind him that she realized the office was made for one CEO, not two.

"Why don't you stay here, Tony? I'll go back to my office."

Tony swallowed hard, pressing his back against the door, holding onto the handle with one of his hands behind himself. "No, _stay_. We can share, right? Besides, you still gotta give me the orientation of this place, so that…you know, I can find myself around here when…"

He could not finish his sentence, making her feel guilty for even considering wanting to bite his head off for showing up for work on time. Exhaling deeply, she nodded to him, returning to the desk and placing her bag on the floor next to the chair. Tony pulled his own chair to sit across from her, looking almost willing to learn.

"We can have your things brought back here, if you want to. I can arrange it to happen first thing tomorrow."

Tony shook his head, waving off her concern with one of his hands. "No need, Pep. I kinda like what you did with the place…except for that," he amended his statement as he pointed at the moving, mutated Ferris-wheel he had tried to stop once before. "That _has_ to go, sorry."

Pepper smiled as she stared at the silly contraption, happy that she could take it home with her. She had loved the damned thing when she saw it online, and was relieved that Tony wanted nothing to do with it.

"Alright. Anyway, press conference?"

"Yeah, I called PR yesterday and they will have everything set by noon. They even wrote the statement, and all. You're set to go."

Pepper blinked again, feeling as shocked as she had been this morning with his early-bird presence. She rested her back fully against the chair, feeling her agenda had been altered without her consent. She had expected to spend the first half of the morning preparing for the media snake pit, but now…

"Uh, how about the employees?"

"Memo was sent to them before we even got here. They know what's coming."

"Oh!" was all she could say to keep her voice from breaking. She had no idea why she was so upset that _he_ had taken care of _her_, for a change. Had he been pretending to be professionally incapacitated for her benefit, all this time? Did he truly have a sense of responsibility buried somewhere deep within him? She felt something tightening in her throat, preventing her from taking the deep breath she so desperately needed right now. Then the tight clench in her stomach brought her back to reality –the pain of it making her right hand fly to her belly.

She used her free hand to hold onto the edge of the desk as the pain increased, quickly turning her knuckles white with the effort. She closed her eyes and breathed heavily, suddenly feeling the world outside her stop. Tony hesitated for an instant before he stood up and walked around the desk to crouch down next to her.

"Pepper, are you alright? What's wrong? Talk to me!"

"Cramp," she managed to say before she lost the grip on the desk, sending her almost crashing face-first on the glass if Tony had not held onto her. "Tony, I…it _hurts_…"

"Fuck, Pepper! What can I do? I…did you have breakfast?"

"N-no," she said before biting her lips as Tony helped her stand up. Tony felt her body shiver to the point that goosebumps traveled down her skin. Her body was wobbly and imbalanced, nearly limp in his arms. The former playboy decided to pick her up in his arms and took her to the couch that lay in the office. He had used the piece of furniture many times before to fall asleep, so he knew that she would be much more comfortable on it.

"Stay with me, Pepper. Stay with me," he pleaded to her, not realizing the double-meaning of his words. He laid her down on the couch, extending her legs and pulling off her shoes from her feet. Pepper's eyes remained closed, but her breathing was slowly normalizing as the pain went away.

Tony was torn between staying with her and calling the in-house medical staff of SI to check-up on her. After a moment of doubt, he opted for the former, kneeling on the floor and using a close-by magazine to air Pepper's face.

"I'm OK…it's passing…I'm alright," she said to him.

Tony's fright was not pacified by her reassurances, wanting to know this very instant what the hell the entire occurrence had been about.

When she finally opened her eyes, she found a very scared Tony Stark staring down at her, looking a loss and ready to burst in confusion. "What the hell was that, Potts?"

Pepper swallowed, taking a moment to make sure the incident she had not had experienced since college was truly gone. When no more constriction or cramps came to her, she pulled herself to a sitting position by using Tony's offered hands to complete the task.

"I'm sorry, Tony; I hadn't had one of these in a long time."

"One of these? _One_ of the THESE? One of these WHAT?"

"Sometimes…when I'm…stressed, it flares up my gastritis and it hurts…bad, especially if I hadn't had anything to eat."

Tony observed her in silence as she finished standing up from the couch, but still used him as a support by resting her hands on his chest. She seemed to be struggling regaining her balance, so he ventured to place his hands on her waist.

"Gastritis? Are you kidding? That was just…gas?"

"It wasn't just gas! I've got a few ulcers, and they don't like to work for free."

"Then, why the hell didn't you eat something? You scared the crud out of me!"

"Because I was going to eat at your place, like I always do!"

Tony's preplanned retort died in his throat, realizing his good deed of getting up early had caused Pepper to miss breakfast. He had not considered picking up her favorite coffee and scone on his way to her apartment, and he now hated himself for it. The fact that he was used to having scotch for breakfast sometimes made him forget not everyone ran on alcohol and batteries.

_Sure, I try to do something nice and it turns out shitty._

"Pepper, I…I'm sorry. I'll have someone bring you something to eat, alright?"

"Please, and an antacid, too. I don't want to pass out during the press conference."

"Whatever you want, Pepper." He said to her as he surrounded her waist with his right arm, and held onto her left hand with his own. He carefully led her out of the office and to the private break room across the hall so she could eat without having to stare at a workstation or the pile of paperwork already waiting to be reviewed and signed. When they finally arrived at their destination, Tony helped her sit in the closest chair before running out and demanding to the first employee that crossed his path to run to the cafeteria to get Pepper some food.

Only seconds after he had left her side, Tony returned to her and stood behind her, rubbing circles on her back and otherwise feeling useless to her. He had never seen her like this, and she had never mentioned she had digestive issues before. It seemed that she too kept secrets from him, but at least hers did not involve life and death situations.

He cursed under his breath at the realization that his plans for the day were ruined, leaving him no option to push them to tomorrow.

_That's one less day I have to make her stay._

Then again, if staying at the company was going to become detrimental to her health, he'd kick her out himself if he had to. He could still visit her home, right? She did not have to be paid to be his friend, correct?

_Please, Pepper, stay._

His thoughts were interrupted by the presence of the employee that had brought the sustenance Pepper needed to get through the day.

xxxXXXxxx

The people in the room were hushed for an instant after Pepper's announcement before the silence was broken by the sound of hungry reporters looking for a story. Flashes of lights momentarily blinded her, and the myriad of questions briefly overwhelmed her. She could feel her stomach begin to complain again so she took a deep breath as she pointed at a random reporter that was standing to her right. The sooner she answered their questions, the sooner she could go home.

"Ms. Potts, are you being asked to resign?"

Pepper shook her head, putting on her unbreakable façade despite the small flares of pain building inside of her. "I've given this decision much thought, even before I took on the role of CEO. My boss," she said as she pointed to Tony who flanked her on the right, "doesn't want to see me go, but he respects my decision."

"Why are you resigning after being CEO for only a week?"

"My appointing was not meant to be permanent," she lied through her teeth. "Mr. Stark needed some time to watch over the developments of the Expo, which would in turn take time away from his duties as CEO. Since I've worked with him for such a long time and have learned the ropes of the company, it seemed logical that I'd cover for him in his absence."

"So, you're saying that the Expo is not going to be reopened?"

Pepper shook her head again. "I'm afraid not. Stark Industries is going to focus on internal matters for now."

"Are those internal matters a result of your poor leadership skills?"

Pepper could feel the anger emanating from Tony at the question. She stared at the woman who had asked the question, only now noticing that it had been none other than Christine Everhart from Vanity Fair.

Pepper stared at her cue cards lying on the podium, wishing she could ignore the annoying woman's question and move on. She finally opened her mouth to respond but the microphone was suddenly pushed away from her. When she turned to her side she saw her boss, barely containing his anger, leaning down to her ear to whisper to her.

"I'll take on that bitch, Potts. You took her out of my house, so it's my turn to get her out of your hair."

Pepper did not look convinced by Tony's offer, feeling that if she gave in to his suggestion, she'd lose the little respect and dignity she had left. However, her moment of hesitance was all Tony needed to carefully push her aside and take control of the microphone.

"I'd like to answer that question, if that's OK?"

Christine Everhart pursed her lips for an instant before shrugging in response.

"Great!" he said, clasping his hands together. "I see how this may seem sudden to outside parties –a recently appointed CEO resigning after only a week, and after the fiasco that was the Expo," he said, earning him a laugh from some of the reporters.

"But, I assure you that her decision to leave the company has nothing to do with this, or other rumors that will make themselves present after this conference. I can't think of another person more capable than Ms. Potts to have been in charge of the company during these rough times. Hell, you all know I wouldn't have done any better than her!"

Another bout of laughter, this time more intense than the previous one, filled the room.

"To be honest, Ms. Potts had been considering moving on to greener pastures for quite some time, but I'd been too selfish to let her go," he said, taking a moment to stare at her shocked face.

"She's been taking care of me for too many years now, and it is now my turn to return the favor. I'm not happy that she's leaving me…_us_…the company, but I can't hold her back any longer. The fact that she's gracing us with 30 more days of her time is just a reflection of her devotion to this company, and I can't think of one person that won't be sorry to see her go, myself most of all."

Tony's tone had slowly changed from professional to personal throughout his speech, and for a moment Pepper wondered if he was saying these things for her or _to_ her.

"I just hope that I can honor her work by being able to find my socks in the morning, let alone my way to work every day. Many of her ideas have become reality here at Stark Industries; any other company will be lucky to have her."

The silence that followed the heartfelt declaration was uncommon for the reporters to hear from Stark, but no one dared to challenge the true intention of his words.

"Anyway, I've got this lady with me for only 27 more days, and we've got lots to do. Thank you for coming. Have a good day." Tony said before grabbing Pepper's forearm and leading her away from the bustling crowd. The ride to the office was quiet once more, both of them lost in their thoughts.

* * *

**A/N:** No, I've never seen DOOL in my life, but I'm an avid fan of _Friends_. Good trade, neh? As far as the attack Pepper had, GOD, do I know how that feels. I suffered the same in college, especially when I had to turn in research papers because, believe it or not, I HATE TO WRITE! My first essay resulted in a grade of 30 out of 100, because my professor said I was a terrible writer. I got better, or at least good enough to pass the class, and shut down all writing from my life…until fics found me. Anyway, a panic attack can cause acid reflux flares that do leave you shaky, sweaty and disoriented. Thankfully, mine stopped when my gallbladder was removed, so happy days! If I were Pepper, I'd get it taken out too….maybe she will…what do you think?


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**DAY 4**

Pepper held a cup of hot coffee in one hand, and a half-eaten bagel in the other, both of which tasted like a million dollars to her starved stomach. She spared a moment to glance at the man at the wheel next to her before taking another bite of her breakfast and washing it down with the coffee. As the surprisingly smooth ride neared its destination, Pepper did not know what surprised her the most: the fact that Tony picked her up in one of his vehicles today, and it was just he and she in the car; the fact that he had brought her breakfast with the excuse that he did not want a repeat of yesterday morning's scare; or, the fact that he was up and about early again without her having to force him.

Or, perhaps, it was the fourth fact that surprised her the most: he was driving at normal speeds so that she could eat her breakfast without worrying about spills. Tony Stark had a personal challenge to disobey all laws, so seeing him stopping at every red light, and using the turning signals when needed shocked her to the core.

"How's it, Potts? Do you like it?" Tony asked her when she stopped chewing the bagel in her mouth during her inner turmoil, confusing her hesitance to eat with disapproval of the meal. His voice immediately caught her attention, and she nodded to him before beginning chewing again, wanting to clear her mouth of the food in order to give him proper thanks for his attentions to her.

"It's very good, Tony. And, you said it's gluten-free?"

"Yeah. I had Jarvis research your particular illness; he said normal bread can cause flare-ups."

"Oh!" She said, remembering reading something like that once before when her illness had taken away many nights from her in college, but having forgotten it when she joined SI and became busy as heck. "Well, you didn't have to do this, but thank you, anyway."

Tony shrugged, pretending that what he had done was not a big deal. Truth was he had spent many hours last night reading up everything and anything he could find regarding issues with acid reflux, gastritis and ulcers, and ways to prevent and/or cure the potential side effects of having such injuries in one's digestive system. If he had to resort to every day standing in line at the gluten-free establishment he had found to get her the food she could eat, he would gladly do so.

"So, what's the plan for today?" he asked, trying to divert the conversation to a neutral territory that did not involve her finding out how hard he was trying to make her stay.

"I'm going to spend the day making a list of chores I do for you. Once I'm done, I'll run it by you to see what still applies and then I'll start determining who can do these tasks for you when I'm gone."

"Consider Jarvis as a possible assistant on that list," he said without taking his eyes off the road.

"Alright," Pepper replied, knowing that other than her, Jarvis was the only other _person _Tony trusted to perform a task in a way the billionaire expected it to be completed. "I'm also going to have HR post the open PA position. Would you like it to be internal-only or open to external candidates?"

Tony remained silent as he slowed down the vehicle when they reached the entrance of SI, skillfully maneuvering the car around the parking lot until he reached his reserved spot. He switched off the engine and pulled the key out of the ignition, stashing it in his jeans' front pocket but making no move to unlock the doors.

Pepper took a final bite of her bagel as she waited for Tony's response. She knew it was common for him to set the kill switch for the locks so that the latch could only be removed from the driver's seat, so she did not attempt to open the door she knew she would not be able to unlock.

"How about you hold off on the posting?" he finally retorted. "I may not need an assistant anymore."

Pepper was taken aback by his response and tried to drown the first thought that came to her mind by taking a long sip of her drink. The bagel was now long gone and her hunger satisfied, but the path the current conversation was taking made her feel sick again, wishing she still had an empty stomach.

"What do you mean? You_ need_ an assistant, Tony. How are you gonna…? I mean, if you don't need one, then why the hell did I even work for you?" she asked him, completely overlooking the term _anymore_.

Tony rested his left elbow on the side of the door, rubbing his forehead as he thought about how to relay his line of thought to her. He knew he did not have to explain anything to her, and had she been any other SI employee, he would have simply told them to do as he said and to leave the thinking to him. However, this was not just any SI employee; this was Pepper –his Pepper. His loyal employee and friend, so he felt he owed her a justification. As luck would have it, however, the strange relationship between them made it even more difficult to coherently express his thoughts to her.

"Look, Pep, I…I've been doing some thinking, and whatever you do for me can be done by the people on the 5th floor. You yourself even mentioned that you would delegate the tasks. I'm perfectly capable of finding my own ass in the mornings. I don't need anyone haranguing me at home anymore."

Pepper swallowed hard, trying her best to not be affected by his words. To some level, she knew that what he was trying to say was not exactly what he had just said; the man was just not very good with words. Nevertheless, the implication that he had grown up to the point that he felt he did not need an assistant (read: babysitter) was difficult to cope with. She wanted to think that he did not need an assistant anymore because her years of investing time and effort in him had finally paid off. Yet, in tough conversations such as these, emotions tended to speak louder than logic, leading the participants to irrationalize everything that was being said and done.

"Seems to me, then, that you don't need me for 30 more days. I can have all of your chores reassigned by week's end. The most difficult task was going to train your new PA, but if you don't need one…"

"Pep, that's not what I meant…" he cut her off immediately. "Listen, I…well…" he fumbled with his words, not certain which important point to get across first. He had not meant to imply she was not needed anymore, or that her position had become obsolete to the company. He had tried to say, instead, that he did not want _anyone_ else but _her_ to be his personal assistant.

To his dismay, Pepper did not feel like waiting for him to put his thoughts in order. "Please unlock the door, Mr. Stark."

"Pepper, don't be like that."

"Please?" she asked again in a more insisting tone despite the courteous intent of the word, not daring to face him.

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'?" she spat, her voice with a higher pitch than usual. She placed the coffee inside the middle tray, not feeling well enough to continue drinking it before facing him and narrowing her eyes at him. "Either you unlock these doors, or I will…"

"You will what?" he interrupted her. "Leave me before your time is up?"

"I'm not leaving _you_, sir. I'm _leaving_ the company."

Tony groaned, hitting the steering wheel with his palm and startling the heck out of her. "Dammit, Pepper! Why are you so…_blind_?"

Pepper sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "Mr. Stark, we're not having this conversation…"

"The hell we are not! I…you…w_e_, Pepper, we've been through so much, together! How could you just pack up and leave? Did it really not mean anything to you, our time together?"

And the cat was finally out of the bag. She knew Tony had been pretending to act his age by accepting her verbal notice only to look mature in her eyes. She had actually expected him to crack the very next day and tell her how he really felt about her resignation, so she had to give him points for waiting longer than 24 hours to lay it all on the table.

"Mr. Stark…"

"Stop calling me that! You know I hate it when you do that to spite me!"

"Mr. Stark," she said the name with as much emphasis as she could. "I don't think you've got the right to demand I consider our years together to help your cause."

"Oh, really? And why is that?"

"Because, _Mr. Stark_," she said his last name again with even more venom than before. "If our commitment to each other was truly that important to you, then you would've told me you were dying!"

Tony's eyes could have not widened more, even if he willed them to. He had hoped she had moved on from that topic the moment he had told her he was not dying anymore. Clearly, he had been mistaken.

"That's not the same thing, Pepper, and you know it."

"Is it not? Really? How is it NOT the same?"

"How IS it the same?" he challenged her.

"Well, for starters, you didn't trust me enough to tell me that dirty secret of yours. Secondly, instead of seeking help you made my life miserable with your stupid stunts and humiliated me in front of the world by having to put out your fires for you!"

"I _tried_ to tell you, Pepper," he said, raising his voice as if the higher volume would obscure her doubts. "I tried to let you in, but…the longer I waited and the more I realized I couldn't stop it…it just got more difficult to tell you the truth."

"So, you thought it was best for me to find you dead in your lab one day with a note attached to your forehead that said 'I'm sorry I didn't tell you'? That's just so typical of you."

"No! I…I just, I didn't want to hurt you. I, I felt that if I told you it meant…that it meant it would become final."

Pepper slammed her fists on her knees, being the only thing that kept her from punching him in the face. She was beyond upset, and the involuntary tears forming in her eyes only heightened her anger.

It did not matter that he had tried to protect her by not telling her the truth; all that mattered to her was that he had been so close to leaving her, without notice, and she would had been the last to know even though she felt she deserved much more from him. It was ironic to her how the two situations were so similar in an eerie kind of way. How would Tony have felt if she had one day just up and left her post without notice? She knew death and quitting your job were not really comparable, but the concept behind them was the same: trust –or lack thereof.

"Didn't you stop to think that it'd hurt me more to find out _after_ you died? To realize that I wasted time that I should've spent telling you that I lo-"

The silence that followed her almost confession weighed a ton. She pursed her lips close and mentally hit herself for the slip up. She closed her eyes tightly, praying that with three taps of her heels she would be blown away to a place far away from his car. She took her hands to her face, taking deep breaths to calm the emotions that threatened to pour out of her.

"Pepper?" Tony began, fighting his impulse to reach out to her and embrace her. He knew what she had almost said, the situation bringing back memories of a similar confession he himself had tried to tell to her just days ago.

_Do you know how short life is? And if I never got to express…and, by the way, this is somewhat revelatory to me…and I don't care…I mean, I care. It would be nice. I'm not expecting you to…to…look, here's what I'm trying to say. I'm just gonna say it…_

But he never did. She had stopped him at the crucial point of his conversation only to tell him how his presence was stopping her from doing the job he was meant to do, how his attitude was not making it easier for her to run the company, and that she was allergic to the damn strawberries he had brought her. He had allowed her to tell him off, hoping that by the end she would forgive him once he told her the reason for his visit.

_I need you_, she had begun to say to him towards the end of their discussion, and his heart had skipped a beat at the thought, pushing him to jump into the conversation to say that he needed her, too.

However, she had meant to say she needed him to leave…_now_.

He knew the exact instant his incomplete plea had finally made sense to her when her face showed the almost regret that kicking him out of his office caused her. He knew she had read his disappointment on his face, and that she had thanked all the gods in the world for the interruption that had followed the awkward moment. Meanwhile, all he could think about was how his chance had been ruined as Natasha and Happy walked inside the room.

"_Please_, Tony. Please unlock the door."

Tony stared at her, feeling his heart catching in his throat. He could not understand why it was so difficult for her to accept him, for her to give him a chance –for her to give _them_ a chance. He had put himself out there for weeks now, showing her, telling her, that he could not live without her. He had no experience courting a woman –he never had to before, but that had not stopped him from performing his futile attempts at making her see she meant the world to him.

"You know I feel the same way, Potts. I know you do."

She took her hands off her face and twisted her body to stare at him, noting how vulnerable he was at the moment. She had seen him as such a few times before, but that did not mean it did not disarm her every time. The last time she had seen him like this had been when he had stopped at her office, unannounced, carrying a box of fruit that would have poisoned her; the same time, ironically, that he had tried to tell her he loved her, too.

"I do, Tony." She said, biting her lip. "And, that's why I can't stay with you."

There it was; what he had dreaded to hear: she was rejecting him. What he had feared more than facing his own mortality had become a reality and no particle accelerator would get him out of this one. He wanted to shake her senseless and demand an explanation, a reason why she thought they could not be. He wanted to make her list the reasons why it was a bad idea for them to be together so that he would have a chance to shoot them down, one by one. He wanted to lock them both inside the car until he convinced her to at least try, or die together of suffocation or hunger or both.

Instead, his eyes faced the front of the car, unable to look at her any longer. His left hand reached the locks, fingertips looming over the only object keeping her close to him. He swallowed his pain and disappointment, giving way to his arrogant side. His anger was quickly rising, pushing him to put up his shield to deal with the agony. He absentmindedly pushed the magic button, its mechanism quickly performing the task it was meant to do.

Pepper wasted no time in reaching the handle, wanting nothing more than to escape her prison and drown herself in paperwork to ease the ache. For an instant, however, she thought about taking back her words, turning around, and kissing her boss out of his trance. She was tempted to lock herself again inside the vehicle with him, and apologize for breaking his heart.

Nevertheless, it was too late for that. She knew it the moment she saw Tony's walls come up again. Maybe the issue was still mendable if she gave him some time. Maybe the best course of action right now was to let him sulk and then catch him on the rebound. Maybe all hope was not lost, and maybe she was wrong about not daring to chance her luck with him, consequences be damned.

When she pulled the handle and partially opened the door to exit, his unemotional words stopped her for an instant, making a cold shiver run down her spine.

"Ms. Potts? I want that list of chores on my desk by the end of the day." He said as he took out the key from his pocket and placed it in the ignition.

"Yes, Mr. Stark," she managed to respond as she exited the vehicle. As she turned around to close the door, he leaned forward to grab the handle, his voice catching her attention once more.

"Don't bother coming back to work tomorrow. You're fired." He said to her before slamming the door shut and reversing out of the parking spot. Her eyes filled with tears as she watched him leave marks on the pavement with his half turn, and then with his attempt at a quick escape from the parking lot.

**DAY 5**

Rejection was a feeling he was not accustomed to experiencing, but today he would have paid half of his fortune to have suffered through it many times before. He had no idea how to handle it, or control the emotions that came with the realization that he had been banned from owning something he wanted to have.

Then again, Pepper was not a thing, even though he sometimes felt as if he had brashly downgraded her from a human being to a simple object of his with some possessive actions he had had toward her. He was guilty of doing horrible things to her in the past, he knew. But none of those awful things compared to what he had now done to her.

In all honestly, it was not that he had really viewed her as an object; it was just that he viewed her as the one person he could not live without, and thus tried everything in his power to keep her from ever leaving his side. Yet, her rejection yesterday had completely blinded him. It had made him act stupid and selfish and angry. He had not regarded his words before he had said them and instead he had placed all his efforts in taking out the rusty dagger she had stabbed his heart with, only to stab her right back with the same blade.

_Asshole_, he called himself, because that was exactly what he had been to her; an ungrateful, egotistical asshole.

The same asshole that now stared at the list of chores he had requested of her. He had returned to work today to find it on his desk. He had not bothered to return to work after leaving her in the parking lot, knowing she would stay behind and finish the day. He had walked in this morning to see his belongings were back in his office, as if they had never really left. When he had questioned Bambi –his father's old secretary, about the whereabouts of Pepper's stuff, he had been told that she took her personal possessions with her, and that the rest had been sent to the warehouse for proper storage.

He had then been informed that Pepper had worked nonstop until the sun went down, sorting through paperwork, attending his meetings, cleaning his office, cleaning her office, and delegating and crash-training all of Tony's chores to the rest of the staff. Most of the tasks that could be automated had been assigned to Jarvis, such as providing a daily breakdown of Tony's agenda throughout the day, as he had found out himself when he woke up today.

Tony had driven himself home after their fight, spending the rest of the day drinking and tinkering with his suit. The armor was now completely fixed, and he even had a chance to use it during a minor mission in the Middle East last night. The impact of his poisonous words to her did not hit him until he came home from the fight, expecting to see Pepper's disapproving look when he flew inside the basement. Instead, he found himself alone, the only expectant presences in his lab being his two faithful bots.

He had fallen asleep soon after patching himself up, more out of drunkenness than exhaustion. He had woken up today out of sheer will of hoping that his blunder had been only a dream, more than a sense of responsibility to go to work. He had not even bothered to order PR to release a statement regarding the early dispatch of Pepper from SI, hoping he could call her up and take it back, but he had later found out she had taken care of the small detail before she left.

Here he was now, holding onto a pen in one hand and alternating his staring between the list of chores and another piece of paper on his desk: the form that effectively transferred the company back to him. Pepper's neat fingerprint and signature was already present. All he needed to do was sign on the dotted line. He had been trying to force himself to sign the fucking paper for an hour now, but every time the tip of the pen touched the paper, he lost his nerve and looked up at the door, hoping to see her walk in and yell at him for putting off the inevitable. Yet, her presence never came.

Dropping the pen to the side, Tony held back a sob. He rubbed his moist eyes with his hands before staring down at the piles of memos on his desk. He had not even bothered sorting through them yet, but he knew that his signature was all that was required of him. The dull papers were adorned by colorful sticky notes Pepper had placed on them to tell him where to sign. Her writing was all over the place, pointing out the important clauses of each paper, and posing important questions that she recommended should be considered before approving funding for some of the projects the papers detailed. She had even gone as far as cross-referencing the papers and placing a note between stacks of papers of the same type.

It was not until this very moment that Tony's eyes caught sight of the two envelopes that had been left in his inbox tray. One envelope was of normal size, with his name written on the outside. The second envelope was much larger, and it contained a small label on the top left corner where his named had been typed. He grabbed the larger envelope first, tearing it open and dumping its contents on the desk. The items that came out confused him for an instant: x-rays film, a prescription for antibiotics and a stack of lab results. He eyed the papers with furrowed brows until he realized they were nothing more than the results of the tests he and Pepper had undergone a few days ago after the Expo. He had already forgotten about them since they both had been cleared of any major wounds that same day.

After clearing his confusion, the small envelope received his attention. The envelope was not sealed, so he had no trouble opening it. A small piece of folded paper was inside. He unfolded it to find one single line scribbled on it; a set of nine numbers he did not recognize.

He flipped over the paper to see if there was anything else on the back, but found it to be empty. He then grabbed the envelope and tore it apart, hoping there was something else inside that told him what these mysterious numbers represented. Finding nothing else was inside the small envelope, he pulled the paper close to his face, reading the number out loud.

"476-18-4785."

_Five, _his mind screamed to him, finally piecing together for him what the number was. He folded the paper in half once more, taking out his wallet and placing it inside one of its compartments before returning the wallet to his back pocket. His hand worked on its own, finding the pen on his desk, and making him not aware of his signature marring the transfer papers until he was done.

He closed the folder that held the transfer document and then threw it inside the out box on his desk for Bambi's later collection. The pen he still held split in two in his hand, staining everything close to it with ink, but he did not care.

He threw the broken pen on the floor before grabbing a second one and putting all his energy in signing all the papers Pepper had worked so hard to organize for the sake of saving him time, all the while a single thought flooding his mind.

_I'm sorry, Pepper. I love you. I'll make this right._

* * *

**A/N:** Anyone interested in what happens next?


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**DAY 6  
**

Just as yesterday, when she had first opened up her eyes and realized she had no workplace to report to, Pepper Potts took her time waking up her strained body. The quality of her sleep had been better last night that it had been the night before, mostly due to the fact that she had cried for only half of the night and not the entire night. She was not accustomed to crying, even if by herself, but given the circumstances, she knew even someone as composed as she needed a good cry from time to time.

_It'll be over soon._

Will it?

She rolled onto her right side and almost jumped out of bed when she saw the clear outline of a large vase with flowers proudly standing on her nightstand, which she was certain had absolutely not been there the night before. She pulled the covers closer to her body, wondering if the intruder who had placed them there was still lurking in the shadows of the early morning. She held her breath as her eyes scanned the room, almost startling herself with any item that vaguely resembled a person's silhouette. A moment later, she visibly relaxed at the realization that, other than the vase, nothing else seemed out of place in her room.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, she sat up on her bed, reached over to the lamp on her nightstand and turned it on. The room instantly became illuminated, reassuring her that everything else had been left untouched. She shook her head at his audacity to commit B&E of her home after what had happened between them, but she quickly came to terms with the fact that life with Tony was exactly that: audacity and lack of social morals, day after day.

_And yet, you love it that way, Virginia._

"Shut up," she mumbled to her mind. Taking in a deep breath for courage, she slid to the edge of her bed, staring at the large bouquet in all its glory. She was not surprised to see that he was trying to make amends by resorting to the oldest trick in the book, but the fact that he had not gone straight to using a dozen red roses did intrigue her. In addition, the many cards attached to different parts of the bouquet made her extremely curious about their contents.

Would their contents be nothing more than plain cards with a sappy pre-printed poem on them? Did they contain a one-liner from his repertoire of lame-sounding quick apologies, written in his terrible penmanship? And, most especially, why the hell did the envelopes have _arrows _drawn on them?

"I should just give these back," she said before her mind mocked her false disinterest.

_As if! You're dying to know what they say!_

"I thought I told you to shut up!" she said, raising her voice as if her mind would be intimidated by the action. She then scoffed at the realization that she was arguing with herself, making her sound as crazy as…

_He. You sound just like him! Ah, screw it!_

She stood up from her bed and looked over the vase, her hands shaking in anticipation. The arrangement was composed of twelve flowers, the dozen compiling of three different kinds. Each kind of flower had a separate card hanging from a plastic holder. The three embedded cards in the flowers were of normal size for a bouquet, but a much larger envelope was taped to the front of the vase. The envelope had two words handwritten on it, which read _Start here_.

Pepper could not help the roll of her eyes. Only Tony Stark would complicate a simple thing such as a bouquet of flowers and turn it into a complex blueprint or schematic.

She pulled the envelope from the vase, flipping it over and opened the flap. She took out from it what at first looked like a standard greeting card, but upon further inspection she determined it was not. The front of the card read, in print, _Daffodil, White Chrysanthemum, and Purple Hyacinth Bouquet_.

Pepper's eyes moved up from the card to the bouquet to identify each type of flower. She counted three stems of white chrysanthemums, three stems of daffodils, and six stems of purple hyacinths. Her attention returned to the card as she opened it and read its printed contents to herself.

_The Daffodil, White Chrysanthemum, and Purple Hyacinth Bouquet is the perfect way to say you're sorry to your loved one. The chrysanthemums express truthfulness, while the daffodils express respect for your partner. The heart-filled apology will hit home by the use of the purple hyacinths, which express your sorrow-filled apology and ask for forgiveness._

_Hmpf! Respect, sure_, she thought while she read the description a few more times, and despite her initial dismissive reaction to the meaning of the bouquet, her eyes still sparkled as she stopped over the words _loved one_ and _partner_. She almost hated herself for feeling like a giddy school-aged girl at the gesture, but she could not deny she was still human. She held the description card in one hand while her free hand grabbed the card that had been placed by the purple hyacinths. She opened the small card and found a single line written on it by none other than the object of her affection.

_For acting a fool during my birthday party_, the little card read. She then grabbed the card that the daffodils hosted, reading its content to herself.

_For disrespecting our relationship by messing around with you-know-who._

The memory of him and Natalie dancing and flirting returned to her, but she shook it off her mind to read the last card. She pulled it off its plastic holder and read it out loud.

"I love your birthday gift, by the way."

Matching the descriptions of the flowers to the small cards, Pepper put two and two together, understanding the message he was trying to convey. Asking for forgiveness: for his actions during the celebration. Respect for your partner: for being overly friendly with Natalie. Truthfulness: to tell her he loved the AC/DC tickets and concert kit she had gotten him.

Pepper Potts could not hold back a smile.

_OK, so this is a good start, I think. But it alone won't do, Mr. Stark, _she thought to herself as she turned around on her heels and headed to the door, holding the cards in her hands. As she entered the living room, she was welcomed by another floral arrangement on her coffee table. The smirk that appeared on her face was automatic, her feet leading her to stand in front of the bouquet.

Just as the first one, the concoction held a few cards embedded in between the flowers (three kinds, again), and one large envelope taped to the vase. She placed the cards she was holding on the coffee table to free her hands and get on with the program. Knowing the drill, she grabbed the large envelope first, took out the card and read its contents, all the while her heart beat like crazy inside her chest.

_The Red Rose, Deep Red Rose and Cinnamon Rose Bouquet. If your partner hasn't spoken to you in a week, your situation has turned from serious to dire. The 50 stems of Red Roses symbolize your unconditional love, while the six stems of Deep Red Roses tell your partner that you feel ashamed about the wrong you have done. Finally, the six stems of Cinnamon Roses say that your apology comes without pretension, which is perfect if you have really dropped the ball._

The smile had now turned into a light chuckle, especially when she noticed that the phrase "hasn't spoken to you in a week," was highlighted by an arrow leading to a handwritten note next to the printed description of the purpose of the bouquet. Pepper flipped the card so that she could read the sideways note, giggling like a little girl as she did.

_I know it's only been 24-plus hours, but it feels like dog years._

She held the card to her chest, sighing at her luck and damning the man for knowing how to act sweet when it actually mattered. She then directed her attention to the small cards, grabbing the card attached to the red roses first, on which a handwritten line read: _Because you know it is_. Her hand then moved to the card embedded in the deep red roses, reading its contents out loud once more.

"For nearly destroying your reputation."

The simple phrase brought tears to her eyes. Yes, she was putting her professional life on the line for him, or because of him, but she had been silly to think there was an easy career life after being Tony Stark's PA. It had been her choice, true, but she would have not taken the final step had Tony not royally screwed up.

Her attention drifted to the last card, which was held by the holder sticking out of the cinnamon roses, grabbing it with a quick flick of her hand. The simple note read: _For not appreciating your hard work in keeping the company afloat._

Pepper sniffled as she began matching the descriptions with his notes. Unconditional love: because she _knew_ his feelings for her were unconditional, despite the random fights and disagreements that made it seem as if they were not. Ashamed about the wrong you've done: effectively butchering, in just hours, the work she had done for years. An apology without pretension: for not truly realizing the fire she had been under during her disastrous week as CEO.

She deposited the cards on top of the coffee table before wiping tears from her eyes. She turned around to grab a tissue from her side table, and it was then that she saw a third bouquet by the foot of the door. She bit her lip, slowly walking toward it, not sure if she could take any more words of forgiveness regardless of how much she deserved them and needed them. Despite her fear and excitement, she kneeled down on the floor in front of the arrangement, repeating the now-memorized steps.

The explanation card contained the following description: _The Daisy, Forget-Me-Not and Mauve Bouquet. This token of affection is your last resort if you really, almost irrevocably, screwed up. The five stems of daisies express unwavering loyalty and love. The six stems of Forget-Me-Nots signify faithful love and the sweet memories you've shared together with your partner. Finally, the single stem of the mauve flower asks the question "Do you still love me?"_

Pepper's lips trembled as she dared to grab the first card, embedded in the flowers that represented loyalty and love, its contents being the simple phrase _"For you."_

The second card, attached to the flowers that represented _the faithful love and the sweet memories shared together_, contained a phrase that made her tears come back with a vengeance_: "Everyday I'm with you."_

Finally, the last card, which was connected to the question "Do you still love me?" made it to her hands. She swallowed hard as she flipped open the card and read its contents. She immediately closed her eyes, taking the card to her chest and failed to hold back a sob. She took in deep breaths to calm herself, sniffing loudly and returning her eyes to the card once more.

The overwhelming emotions got the best of her, and she almost did not hear the loud knock on the door. She held her breath, weighing the possibility that he was right outside, having waited for the best moment to strike. She used the bottom of her night shirt to clean her face as much as she could before she picked up the bouquet and the cards, taking them to the coffee table.

"Just a minute!" she responded to the second knock, grabbing a handful of tissues to clear up her nose and wipe her eyes as she walked back to the entrance. She took in a deep breath and opened the door to see what she was not expecting: a young man, dressed in a uniform, wearing a cap and holding a tray.

"Healthy Goodness Bakery – delivery for Ms. Potts."

Pepper was taken aback by the presence of the man. She peeked outside her door and looked from side to side, as if expecting to see her eccentric former boss hiding somewhere nearby. When she was not able to find anyone but the already visibly anxious delivery man, she pulled her head back into her home, shaking her head at the boy.

"I'm sorry, I didn't order anything."

"No, Mr. Stark did. It's already paid for, tip and everything."

"Oh," was her immediate response, grabbing the food tray and thanking the man. "Healthy Goodness Bakery, huh? I didn't know you guys delivered."

"We don't." The delivery man confirmed her knowledge and suspicions, leaving out the part where Tony Stark had called them an hour ago and demanded the gluten-free breakfast of scones and coffee be delivered to Ms. Potts's residence by 7 a.m., and making sure they understood he did not give a rat's ass that home delivery was not one of their services, and stating it would become a daily service for Ms. Potts until he felt it was not needed anymore.

"I see. Well, thank you, again. Have a good day." Pepper said, taking the tray inside her apartment and closing the door behind her. As she turned and headed to the living room, she again stared at the last bouquet she had received from him. She took out the food from the tray and placed it on her coffee table, staring at all the cards that had been placed in the gifts. They had all meant the world to her, but the one that she would forever hold dear was the last one; the one that was connected to the question_ "Do you still love me?"_ by having a phrase that read _"Because, I still do."  
_

xxxXXXxxx

Tony stared down at his watch once more after having done so no more than 15 seconds ago. He was expecting a very important call, and given that it was already half past 7, he feared the worst. He groaned and rubbed his face with his hands, feeling more and more anxious by the _nano_second.

He had called Bambi earlier today to let her know he would be working from home today, and that he would return tomorrow to catch up with his meetings. He was not trying to avoid work even though that was what it had seemed to the old assistant, it was just that with all the recent activities he had forgotten his home was in need of major repairs.

The failed birthday party had left his home with a new balcony, and his basement was filled with coils and a now-useless particle accelerator. He needed to make sure the dangerous device was broken apart before clean up and repair crews showed up tomorrow to begin fixing up the place.

As he took down another piece of the artifact, Tony exhaled in exhaustion. He had spent the first half of the night researching the meaning of flowers, harassing floral shops owners in the middle of the night, and then breaking into Pepper's home to leave the gifts in place. The second half of the night he had spent assessing the damage of his house and listing to Jarvis which services he needed to get here by tomorrow.

Tony stood up and stretched his back, scoffing at the fact that he was running out of space to put the broken-apart elements of the accelerator.

"Jarvis, I need some room. Which is the closest place I can dump this shit before it's taken away?"

"The guest room upstairs, the one immediately after the entrance of your lab, is available, sir."

Tony shook his head, wiping sweat off his forehead with the bottom of his t-shirt before deciding it was too soaked to be of any use. He cursed under his breath as he pulled it off and threw it on a chair before walking upstairs to find a spare space himself.

"Jarvis, you know that room is Pepper's. Her stuff is in there," he stated, recalling that after a few occasions when she had no option but to stay overnight to watch over his intoxicated ass, Pepper had brought over personal effects and left them in that room for future use. It was rare that she had to bunk over, but when she had brought her belongings with her and had left them there, Tony had made a mental note that the room was not to be used for any other purpose than for hosting his tired PA.

"Her belongings are no longer in the mansion, sir."

Jarvis's response made Tony stop in his tracks, looking up at the ceiling as if Jarvis had a face he could get a read on. "What?"

"Ms. Potts briefly stopped by yesterday to collect her personal effects."

"What the…? The ONE day I got to work without her! Why didn't you tell me, Jarvis?!" The billionaire asked, irritated that Pepper had taken with her the last vestiges of her presence in his house. He stomped his way to the room, barging inside and headed to the closet. He opened the doors to find that Jarvis was correct. All her clothes were gone.

His feet then took him to the bathroom, the anxiety making him haphazardly open all the drawers, doors, and the cupboard to confirm that her makeup and toiletries were in fact gone.

_Fuck! Why did she…?_

He sighed, knowing exactly why she had taken her stuff: he had fired her. And, even though he had meant she was fired from the company, he knew that their conversation had also made it sound as if he had fired her from his life.

He slammed shut all the doors and drawers before walking out of the bathroom and into the room. He sat on the bed and took a deep breath, hoping that her perfume still permeated the bed sheets. He waited in silence for a couple of minutes but unfortunately, he had no such luck.

"Jarvis, _why_ didn't you tell me she'd been here?"

"You didn't ask, sir."

Tony's face of incredulity bordered on humorous, though not by choice. He slapped his forehead with his right hand a few times, not believing his ears.

"I didn't _ask_? Are you kidding me? Look, Jarvis, from now on, anything and everything you know about Ms. Potts you are to relay to me even if _I don't ask_. Got it?"

"Very well, sir. By the way, the Bakery just called to confirm the delivery was made to Ms. Potts' residence, and she accepted it."

"WHAT? When did they call?"

"A minute after you started feeling sorry for yourself, sir."

"Why didn't you patch the call through? And, what do you mean sorry for myself?"

"I took the liberty of using my heat sensors to determine you were indisposed. I took the message for you."

"You know, Jarvis? Sometimes I wish I'd build you a body so that you I can properly yell at you."

"I can still hear you without one, sir."

"That's not what …oh, never mind. Anyway, she accepted the food, you said?"

"That's correct."

"Well, that's a start, I guess," he said with a groan. "I really, really, _really_ blew it this time, didn't I?"

"Yes, sir, you did indeed as you would say,' _fucked up'_."

Tony shook his head, a smirk finally reaching his face. He did not know if Jarvis was trying to make him feel better, if it was a sad fact of life that even a machine with no feelings appreciated the grandeur screw up he was, and that from all the words in the world he knew Jarvis was familiar with, the expletive was the only one the AI deemed appropriate to describe the situation.

Standing up from the bed, Tony exited the room and headed to the living room, carefully avoiding debris. He stood in front of his now recently-broken television, shaking his head again at the lack of resources available in his home for now. He resorted to walking into one of the other guest rooms to find a screen he needed for his next task.

After opening a few rooms, he finally found a room with a big enough screen to serve his purposes, standing in front of it and waiting for an image. "Jarvis, show me the feed of when Pepper was here to pick up her stuff."

"Uploading."

The television turned on instantly, showing a recording of the feed the cameras had picked up from yesterday. He stared down at the counter at the bottom right of the screen, noting she had shown up around noon.

He watched as she parked the car at the front of the house, got out of the vehicle and carefully walked inside to avoid tripping over the mess. She was carrying a bag with her, and she wasted no time in entering her guest room. The camera feed followed her inside the bedroom, and he watched as she placed the empty bag on the bed, unzipped it and then headed to the closet.

She opened the doors and began taking down the clothes from the hangers, alternating between throwing them on the bed and covering her face with her hands. After the third such gesture, Tony leaned closer to the screen.

"Jarvis, close up of her face."

Jarvis hesitated for a second, knowing what Tony would find, but obeyed his creator's orders anyway. A moment later, Tony's heart broke when he saw her face was red, filled with tears, and her eyes were almost swollen shut. He swallowed hard, knowing that those tears were there because of him.

The tears continued, as well as the packing, and at some point after Pepper had collected her items from the bathroom, she had lowered herself to the floor and had cried, and cried, and cried. The video did not need to have any sound for Tony to measure how intense her weeping was. When he saw her cough and hold her weight with her hands, he used his own to cover his face.

"That's enough, Jarvis."

The feed stopped, but the feeling of regret only grew. He hoped that the flowers were a good starting point for them to rebuild their relationship, but the more he learned about what she had done after he fired her, the more he realized he had years of repent to come.

Had he, however, continued watching the feed, or had not told Jarvis that he did not want to hear his next comment, Tony would have seen Pepper walk inside the lab after she had finished packing, and bringing back with her from his basement something that was very valuable to him.

xxxXXXxxx

The restaurant Pepper had just arrived at was extremely elegant, very difficult to reserve a table in, and thus perfect for her current needs. A simple smile and her name was all it took for the front hostess to welcome her inside and lead her to her table. Her companion was already there, smiling to her as she sat in the chair across from him.

"Frederick, I hope you haven't been waiting for long."

"Not at all, Virginia. I just arrived myself; long day at the office. You know how it gets."

"I hope you're not trying to make me feel better about being late. I ran into some_ complications_."

"Oh? Anything I should know about?"

"You already know."

Frederick Richardson nodded, understanding her hidden meaning. He had known her for years, since before college, and especially so when he and her dated back in high school.

"Well, what do you have for me? Anything new?"

"Not from what I've told you on the phone. But, before anything else, let me thank for agreeing to meet me like this. I'm very, very grateful. I know it would be ideal to meet at your office, but…well…"

"I understand, Virginia. This is a delicate situation that the media would probably try to exploit. The last thing I want is to cause more issues in your life."

Pepper nodded in agreement, only imagining the field day the newspapers would have if they found out about this meeting. "And I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your discretion, at least until this is finalized."

"Of course," Richardson began, taking a sip of his martini. "And I have no problem keeping this a secret –at least until you say it's OK to announce the decision to the world. However, I hope you also appreciate that meeting like this slows down the process. If it were up to me, I'd like to have you in my facilities right away and every day."

Pepper lowered her head, staring intently at the napkin she had just placed on her lap. "And I am considering that option, but it's just too soon after recent events. The longer I can avoid the rumors spreading, the easier my decision will be. I hope you don't mind me starting working with you on this by doing it from home."

"Absolutely not! However, and I'm sorry if this sounds intrusive but, have you told him about our situation?"

Pepper's head snapped up to face him, widening her eyes in shock. "God, no! If I expose you to him, he'll start chasing you in the middle of the night in his suit!"

Frederick chuckled lightly, truly seeing the Iron Man breaking into his home and making a scene. "And I definitely don't want that, but, Pepper, he will find out soon. Don't you think it'd be best he heard it from you than from some chump on TV? This way he will have time to adjust before your face is all over the news."

Pepper shook her head from side to side. "No. It's not time yet. He'll flip. I'll wait until the paperwork is complete, and then I will tell him."

"What if he finds out before?"

"Unless you tell him, he won't find out."

Frederick shrugged. "I won't tell him, I promise. Anyway, did you bring it?"

Pepper blinked a couple of times until she realized what Frederick was referring to. She nodded to him as she reached inside her bag. She usually did not carry with her any large purses unless she was at work, but she could not bring with her the object he needed from her in one of her smaller ones.

She stared around her as she pulled out a small box and handed it to him. He picked up the box, surprised at how light it was, before shoving it inside his own portfolio.

"Please be careful with it…if he finds out I took it…"

"Don't worry about it, Virginia. I'll give it back to you as soon as I'm done analyzing it."

"Thank you," she said for his benefit, but she still felt uncomfortable doing something like this to Tony behind his back. She knew he would give whatever she asked for, but she also knew his curiosity was too great, and he would definitely have questions about the reasons behind her request.

Feeling a weight was lifted from her shoulders by performing the exchange, she allowed herself to relax as they both ordered something from the menu and discussed the plans for the future.

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you for waiting! I hope this chapter holds you up until the next update. If not, please feel free to follow my other Iron Man fic: _Man in a Can_ (unless you haven't read Shadows of the Past, yet. If not, start with Shadow before you get to Man.) What do you guys think is going on here? And, which one of you bawled like a baby with the flower scene? I know I almost did while writing it. BTW, the flowers' meanings are completely true. Google up the ehow article regarding flowers used for apologies and you will find my source. I once read a Teen Titans fic where Robin and Starfire share flowers based on their meanings, and thought that an alteration of this would be perfect for this story. If you like Teen Titans, give the story a read; it's called _Bouquet _by Kryalla Orchid.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**DAY 7**

The news that Virginia Potts had left Stark Industries before the timeframe that had been originally stated had been kept a secret for a record-breaking two days until a leak had been made. The front-page piece of information was being covered in all major news stations, as well as in minor print media. As a consequence, and along with letters of encouragement from former business partners, Pepper had received an influx of overnighted mail with multiple offers of employment, ranging from Talk Show Host, to Assistant Director of a wide-array of companies.

The stack of papers on her dinner table silently mocked her thoughts that bringing work home was going to stop the moment she had turned in her badge to Bambi during her last day at SI. She should have known better than to be that naïve.

If the situation had been different, even if just in the slightest, she would have considered any of the offers placed at her feet. She had been truthful when she told Tony she hated job hunting when he had come back from the depths of a cave in Afghanistan, but if she had known the words would come back to haunt her, she would have kept them to herself.

Then again, if she knew then what she knew now, there were plenty of things she would have kept to herself.

She took one last sip of the coffee that had been delivered to her door again today, along with a healthy portion of breakfast croissants. She was not aware of how many different items the small bakery carried, but she had made it her mission tell Tony to stop sending the stuff her way at some point before the menu would be repeated.

_Tony._

She was yet to attempt to talk to him since he had left her in the parking lot, and other than the flowers and the food he had sent her way, he had not attempted to contact her either. She was not blind to the fact that he was waiting for her to take the next step since he had, technically, already taken the first step by leaving the flowers in her home. However, bringing Tony back into her life also meant risking her secret from being discovered by him.

_Frederick doesn't need more trouble than what I already got him in._

Her high school sweetheart had been more than utterly surprised when he had received the call from her. If the circumstances were not what they were, Frederick would have taken a different approach with her –an approach that would have allowed them to reconnect even more, but as with Pepper, Frederick could not always get what he wanted. The irony of the situation and the reversed roles was not lost to the former assistant to Iron Man.

What would Tony do in her situation?

_Let's not go there_, she told herself.

Scanning the letters she had in front her, she began sorting through them, organizing them so that she had one stack for offers, one stack for personal letters, one stack of hate mail –because she did receive some of that as well, and one stack for unsolicited recommendation letters. The stack of offers would be responded to, as soon as possible, with decline letters. The senders of the personal letters would receive a thank-you note for their kind words. The hate mail would kindle her fireplace, and the unsolicited recommendation letters would receive another letter of gratitude before being stored away for future use, if any.

She sighed at the amount of time this would take her, but then realized she really had nothing else to do. It was not as if she did not have an entire weekend available to her, starting tomorrow, or as if she had to report to an office today. The only commitment she needed to keep was with Frederick, and he was a patient man.

With the sound of the news of her life after SI as a background noise, she continued her self-appointed task. Some letters of encouragement had brought a smile to her face, making her reminisce on her impact in the business world. Other encouragement letters, however, reeked of impersonal and forced delivery, but she would respond to them nonetheless. She would have not accepted it otherwise, but putting up with Tony for over a decade did open up many doors that would have been closed had she not built a reputation for being the one person Tony listened to for about 80% of the time.

As Pepper made mental notes of who to respond to quicker than the rest, the news anchor's voice caught Pepper's attention with her last report.

"_Tony Stark has just released a statement regarding Virginia Potts' early dismissal from the company, and we will tell you about it after the commercial break." _

A knot in her stomach formed. She knew that, at this point, Tony was not still upset at her for her rejection, and he was honestly trying to make amends for letting his anger blind his regular friendly attitude towards her. However, she also knew the topic was very sensitive for him, and she hoped his feelings did not get the best of him as they almost had during the press conference earlier in the week.

As she waited for the commercials to end, she stood up from the chair, picking up the trash left behind by what had once been her breakfast and walking to the kitchen to dispose of it. When she came out of the kitchen, she walked to her room and then into her bathroom, quickly and efficiently brushing her teeth. By the time she returned to her seat, the statement was being shown on the screen.

"_After a discussion with Miss Potts, we determined that her responsibility to the company had been fulfilled before the deadline we had established ourselves. I blame her astonishing efficiency for taking her away from me before I was ready to let go, but I would have not expected any less of her. I wish Miss Potts the best in the new phase of her life, and hope she'll drop by the office one of these days; she knows that it will always be there for her."_

The scene cut from an image of the written statement back to the news anchor's face. _"And that, ladies and gentlemen, was Tony Stark's statement to the press regarding the reason behind his assistant leaving sooner than anticipated. Nothing new under the sun, I say. In other news…"_

Well, it had not been _that_ bad, or _too_ off from reality, she had to give him that. Tuning out the next section of the broadcast, Pepper returned her attention to the table for all of two seconds before her home phone rang. Without looking, she picked it up and placed the receiver between her ear and her shoulder, leaving her hands free to continue opening envelopes.

"Hello?"

"_Pepper?"_

She almost dropped the phone at hearing his voice, but she prevented it by letting go of the envelope and holding the receiver with her right hand. She swallowed hard, suddenly her lips feeling dry. She covered the mouthpiece with her left hand to conceal the sound of her long exhale, the silence on the line only causing the caller to pull on the collar of his shirt.

_ "Is…is this a bad time?"_

"No, I can talk," she said to him, forgetting her palm still covered the phone. Tony heard a mumbled response on his end, so he tried establishing communication once more.

_ "I'm sorry, Pep. I didn't catch that."_

Her eyes drifted to her hand, rolling her eyes at the rookie mistake. How was it possible that the simple fact of hearing his voice calling to her was enough for her to forget years of phone etiquette experience?

She finally removed her hand and responded to him, hoping her frustration with herself was not reflected in her tone of voice. "Sorry, Tony. I'm trying to do two things at once."

_"Oh, uhm…I can…call back."_

"No, it's OK. I can take a break," she said, standing from her desk and beginning to pace around the living room.

_"Good! I…I'm on break too, lunch break, actually."_

"Oh, wow! Really? Tony Stark stopping to eat? That's unheard of!" she stated before she realized what she had said. Immediately after finishing her sentence, she bit her lip hoping he did not take her comment the wrong way, and while he usually would not, she was not sure how much was too much after their fight. Hearing the light chuckle coming from him was all she needed to feel relieved.

_"Ms. Potts, you make it sound as an event as miraculous as the birth of Christ. I know I'm awesome, but it's not that exceptional."_

She could not help to laugh out loud, even though she was not sure if her laughter came from finding his response comical or out of pure nervousness. Either way, Tony Stark loved the sound of it.

"I see. So, tell me Tony, what does it feel like to actually _chew _your food?"

_"Uhm…"_ he began, hesitating for an instant as he muted his line for a second when Bambi had walked inside his office. Pepper noticed the distinct sound of a line being placed on hold and she patiently waited for him to return to the line.

_"Sorry, Pep, Bambi was asking me some questions."_

"Oh? How is she doing? Are you driving her insane yet?"

_ "Way ahead of you, Potts. I gotta give the woman some credit, though; she has yet to walk out on me, and that's a feat. I don't think she'll break your record, but probably because she's too __**old**__ to live__** that**__ long."_

A loud throat clearing stopped Tony from speaking any further, both callers narrowing their eyes at the third voice joining their conversation.

_"Mr. Stark, you left the speaker on, AGAIN,"_ a very annoyed-sounding Bambi said, loud enough for Pepper to hear. Pepper covered her mouth with her hand, holding back a chuckle. She could hear coming from the other line the shuffle of fingers trying to rectify the situation, accompanied by the cursing that naturally came to Tony when he was flustered. Pepper remained silent until she heard him sigh loudly and mumble something about stupid, non-intuitive technology.

"Crisis aborted, sir?" she mocked him.

_"Damn, Pepper, doing this job without you really sucks," _he said, punching the speaker off button one too many times just to make sure Bambi was not overhearing their conversation anymore.

"Well, Mr. Stark, maybe you'll learn to appreciate the value of a good employee."

_"Trust me, I already did…and the hard way, too, as it's always the case with me."_

Pepper smiled, unable to control the emotion of happiness threatening to make her soul explode. Her nervousness had somewhat diminished since hearing his voice for the first time in days, and she could tell he was getting more comfortable as well.

"Tony?"

_ "Yes?"_

"I…I wanted to thank you for…well, it's been really easy to have breakfast ready these past few days. And, the flowers sure match my sets of curtains."

If Pepper had been present at his office this very moment, she would have seen him taking a deep breath of relief, closing his eyes and lowering his head as if offering a silent prayer. However, the images of her sad departure from his mansion reminded him he still had some work to do.

_"I'm glad I was able to make your sabbatical even more pleasant."_

_You did more than that, Tony,_ she wanted to tell him, but decided it was too early to lay it out for him. "Also, thank Jarvis for me for giving you a hand with it."

_"Hey! What makes you think I needed help to set that up? I'm perfectly capable of doing common folk chores all on my own, I'll have you know."_

"Really?" she asked, not at all buying into his all-on-his-own image he was trying to create for her.

_"Absolutely! In fact, can attest that I organized the cleanup of the house. I have sweaty construction workers at home right now, ready to work on the mess for the next three days."_

"For three days?" Pepper began, shaking her head at her disbelief that Tony would survive the constant intrusion in his house. He was very anal about who was welcome inside his home, especially his lab, recalling how not even Obadiah was allowed in the basement. "That's if you don't scare them off by tomorrow by putting on your suit and trying to have Iron Man speed up things for them."

_ "Oh, please! I have some self-control!"_

"Do you, now?"

_"Yes. They will not be bothered by me, at all."_

Pepper narrowed her eyes, knowing that if he were to be standing in front of her right now, he could have appreciated the look on her face that said she was about to call his bluff. She could have easily dropped the conversation, but it was too tempting to catch Tony Stark in a lie, especially when it did not involve millions of dollars wasted or a sleepless night praying he was not shot to death in the suit. "So, you can't stay at the house until repairs are done?"

_"Yeah, I gotta live in the streets until Monday,"_ he responded quickly, not bothering with an attempt to save face. _"But, hey! It will give me some practice for when the wife sends me off to the dog house, right?"_

"Tony, you're a billionaire. I'm sure a nice hotel in downtown Malibu would be thrilled to help you out."

_"A hotel? You're right, Pepper. Why didn't I think of that?"_

"Are you serious, Tony? Were you really going to walk the streets for three days?"

_"Ahm…no?"_

Pepper sighed loudly.

_"I could've flown over them."_

"Oh, boy."

Pepper heard some shuffling of papers and then Tony's mumbled voice before he returned to line, his tone turning apologetic_. "Pep, I gotta go. Some idiot in the R&D Department is stuck in the time machine. I gotta go save his ass."_

Pepper's face could only be described as one of unbridled confusion. From all the weird things Tony had ever said before, this was the one sentence that would climb its way to the top position of the list.

"Time machine?"

_ "Oh, yeah! Didn't I tell you? This guy I hired earlier today said he can make a time machine."_

Pepper closed her eyes, thinning her lips to keep her from biting Tony's head off over the phone. "Right…you get right on that Tony, and I'm gonna go back to what I was doing. How about that?"

_"Sounds like a plan! It was nice hearing you, Pep. Don't be a stranger, alright?"_

"I won't. Thanks for calling, Tony."

_"Anytime, Potts! What? Yes, I know! I'm heading out now!...Ugh, I really gotta go. Love you, bye!"_ he said before ending the call, neither of them immediately realizing what he had said until the click of the line cutting off was heard. Such an expression was not uncommon to come from the billionaire when on the phone with her, but she was almost certain that this time, he had meant every single word of the short phrase.

xxxXXXxxx

Three hours after the intern had gotten stuck inside the capsule, Tony was finally able to hack into the darned thing and set him free. After the rescue efforts were completed, everyone in the R&D Department, especially the people working on the _Doc Brown Project_ had received an earful from the CEO. After it was clear to him that everyone understood they were to refrain from testing the time machine unless he was present, he made his way to his office.

Being a Friday afternoon, SI was quickly being emptied of its employees, all of them looking forward to the weekend. It had been a rather stressful week for everyone at the company, and Tony was certain that everyone had earned the rest, even himself. He waved at Bambi as she was gathering her belongings and placing them inside her bag, readying herself to leave for the day.

"Sorry about earlier, Bambi," he said to the woman, tilting his head to match his tone. Bambi shook her head at him, knowing that if she was going to become his permanent assistant, she had to learn to be patient with the man. "It's alright, Mr. Stark. Honest mistake. Oh, before I forget, a fax came in for you while you were gone."

"A fax? I have a fax line?"

"Three, in fact. But this one came through your secure line; it must be important. I left the pages on your desk."

"OK, thanks! Have a good weekend, Bambi," he told her as he walked inside his office once more. He closed the door behind him, almost wanting to flee from the office himself, but he still had to sign some proposals that were due today.

_Pepper would be so proud of me._

Pepper: the one name that would make him forget how to breathe. He had been afraid that calling her earlier today would only cause his small progress with her to disappear, but his worries had been calmed when she had welcomed his call. He knew that their conversation had been just superficial, trivial even, when compared to the real conversation he had wanted to have with her. However, he knew he owed it to them to have that serious conversation in person, and in person it was going to be.

He sat in his chair, immediately grabbing a pen and signing the proposals on his table. In just a few seconds, he was done with his last chore of the day, compelling him to lazily drop the signed documents inside the out box, exhaling in satisfaction of a job well done. He could not say he would ever love it, but maybe being CEO was not such a bad thing after all.

His eyes drifted to the faxed papers Bambi had mentioned to him, picking them up to read them. He knitted his brows at the first page, almost shredding the papers and tossing them behind his back.

"A dozen eggs? 2% milk? White rice? Who the hell sent me their shopping list?"

His eyes scanned the rest of the first page, confirming that it was in fact a list of grocery items. He then flipped to the second page of the fax, on which a handwritten note helped him make sense of the items on the first page.

_These items will hold us for the weekend, unless you try to cook. Hotel Potts's living room and couch will be ready for your arrival –it sure beats sleeping on the streets, or so I've heard. Don't be late; I like to have dinner by 7._

The note was not signed, but he only needed one guess to know who was behind this scheme. The excitement was visible on his face and in his pace as he stood up, grocery list in hand, and headed to the door. He looked down at his watch, which told him it was nearly five in the afternoon. He only had a couple of hours to do the shopping and get some clothes, but all be damned, Pepper Potts would have her dinner on her table when she expected it to be. If not for anything else, but for the mere fact that he would will it be.

xxxXXXxxx

The woman standing next to the billionaire by the dairy aisle did not pretend to not to gawk at him. She stared at him up and down as he tried to balance the multiple items he held in his hands, making him stand at an awkward position. He knew he could have made someone else do this for him, but he wanted to prove to Pepper that he could do things on his own.

The woman shook her head at him disapprovingly before poking him on the shoulder to catch his attention.

"Why don't you get a shopping cart, genius? Did the wife send you here as punishment or somethin'? Damn! Get a clue!"

Tony's eyes darted from the woman's face to the shopping cart she held with her hands, and then to the precarious balancing act he was trying to pull with the items he had already found. He had never gone grocery shopping in his life; he had no idea how time consuming it would be for him.

"I, uhm…she's gonna be mad if I don't make it home on time. Where can I find one of those?" he said as he pointed at the cart with his chin.

"Where the rest of them are: at the front of the store."

Tony looked over his shoulder in the direction of the entrance, knowing there was no way he was going to be able to get there while carrying everything he had. Weighing his options, he returned his attention to the woman next to him, eyeing her cart with predatory eyes.

"Oh _hell _no! Don't even think about it," the woman said, reading his intentions like an open book. "I ain't giving you my cart."

"But, uh…I can pay for it."

"_Pay_ for it? Fool, the carts are free!"

"Yeah, well, I'm in kind of hurry here. Will, uhm, one suffice?"

"One what? One dollar?"

"What? No! One grand. I really need that cart right now. I think I'm about to drop the can of beets."

"Are you crazy? Why would you pay a thousand dollars for a free cart?"

"I'm that stupid. Now, will you…please?" he said, already dropping the items inside the woman's almost empty cart. He then took out the two items that belonged to her, and handed them back to her.

"Here, thanks!" he said before taking out his wallet to find the money he had promised her. He had learned his lesson of carrying some cash with him in case he was faced with the opportunity of buying something for Pepper when the time came. He knew she would not appreciate him trading another one of his watches for another pack of strawberries, even if she weren't allergic to them.

The woman's eyes widened when she saw the amount of cash he had in his wallet as he took out the bills to comprise the promised payment. She wasted no time in taking the cash from him before running away from him in case he changed his mind. Tony waved her off as she left, grabbed the cart, and continued his task.

He looked over his watch and realized it was past six already, and he still had to get some clothes. He doubted Pepper would appreciate him wearing the same outfit for three days –or wear nothing, for that matter, and he was not about to have a clothing clerk deliver garments to her apartment, risking causing even more controversy for her.

_Happy! Happy can help me!_

He tapped his earpiece twice as he wandered down the aisle of the store, keeping an eye for the spaghetti noodles he was supposed to buy. A second after he let go of his earpiece, Jarvis's voice came up on the other end of the line.

"Jarv, I need you to patch me through to Happy."

_"One moment,"_ the AI said. The silence only lasted for an instant before a ring was heard. The phone was immediately answered by his bodyguard, who was already praying he did not have to go bail out his crazy boss from jail or something worse after he had just began preparing for the weekend.

_"What's up, boss?"_

"Hap, I need a favor from you."

_ "Sure, what do you need?"_

"I need you to go to my house and pack me some clothes, and then bring them to Pepper's apartment for me."

The awkward silence that followed was not lost to any of the men.

_"Tony, did you marry her in secret?"_

"What? Sadly, no! I just can't stay at my place for a few days and she offered hers."

_"Really? Are you sure she offered it? Are you sure she didn't actually say 'Tony, stay away from my house!' and you heard 'Tony, I can't wait to have you here'?"_

"Nobody respects me around here."

_"And Pepper will respect you even less if you just show up at her door without permission."_

"Happy, she INVITED me OK? I have it in writing."

_"I'm sure she did."_

"Jarvis, can you please tell Happy what I'm doing right now?"

_"Mr. Stark is grocery shopping per Ms. Potts's request."_

It took Happy a total of three seconds to swallow the information he had just been given. _"Man, are you serious? She asked you to come over?"_

"YES! Now, will you PLEASE get me some clothes?"

_"Damn! Don't fuck it up, Tony."_

"Happy…"

_"Yeah, yeah, I know. How much do you want?"_

"I'm leaving Monday morning and heading straight to work."

_"Gotcha. Well, I'll drop them off before it's time to sleep."_

"OK, thanks," Tony said before he ended the call. He only had twenty more minutes to find the rest of the items on the list or he would be late to his date with Pepper.

_It's a date, right? Right? A getaway, even?_

He had tried not to get his hopes up, but clearly he had not tried hard enough.

Or, maybe, he just didn't want to.

xxxXXXxxx

The knock on the door would have startled her if she had not been standing by the door for the past half hour, peeping through the hole every other minute. Tony was due to her dwelling any minute now, and while she had almost called him back three times to cancel her ridiculous idea, neither time had she been able to even get near the phone.

_What am I doing? What the __**hell**__ am I doing?_ She thought to herself as she patted her clothes and gave herself one last look. She had gotten rid of her lounging clothes and had replaced them with a ruffled, white A-line skirt that stopped right above her knees; a tight-fit, pink blouse, and held her hair in a low side, loose ponytail. She had not bothered with shoes, but she had decorated her right ankle with a bracelet, just in case he happened to look down.

_"Pepper? It's me!"_ he called from outside, knocking for the third time. She could feel her heart beating in her temples, and she almost ran out onto her balcony and jumped off of it. She had hosted Tony in her home before, but neither of those times did they feel as personal as this one felt.

_ Get a hold of yourself, Virginia! You're both adults!_

Well, at least _she_ could be considered one. Clearing her throat, she unlatched the deadbolt and turned the doorknob, slowly opening the door for him. His relieved face turned into one of surprise the moment his eyes took notice of her outfit. No one could deny that being together for many years had given way to the two friends seeing each other in different outfits and living through all types of situations, but the opportunity of walking into her home as nothing more than a regular guest while she was wearing casual clothes had never presented itself.

"Hey! I'm…you…wow," was all he could utter for now. Pepper shook her head at him, opening the door wide enough for her to step out, bending down and picking up some of the grocery bags that lay on the floor, realizing he had bought many more items than what she had requested of him.

"Tony? How the heck did you get these up here?"

Tony snapped out of his awe and started helping her with the chore. "Had to make a few trips," he began. "Here, let me get that one, it's too heavy."

Pepper relinquished the bag to him, and grabbed a lighter one. After a couple of trips each, all the items were placed on the kitchen counter, and the door locked behind them. Since Tony had not been here enough times to know his way around, he resorted to taking out all the items from the bags while Pepper stored them away. The task was soon completed, leaving the kitchen clean once more, and the two of them staring at the other in an awkward silence.

Pepper fidgeted with her skirt while Tony put his hands inside his pockets, trying his best not to drool over her. The silence was then broken by Tony stomping his foot on the floor and running out of the kitchen.

"Tony? What…where are you going?"

"I forgot dinner in the car!"

With a loud slam of the door, Tony was gone. Pepper took a deep breath, thanking his sometimes faulty memory for bringing her back to her senses. "It's OK, Virginia. He won't do anything you don't want him to do."

Problem was: she _wanted_ him to do _something_! She did not want to be the one responsible for leading the way of either a possible catastrophic or amazing relationship; it was just too much of an obligation to bear. She should have known better than to invite him over to her home so close after their fight. Even if their earlier conversation had sounded innocent enough, Tony had already made his intentions with her quite clear. He was tired of ignoring what was right in front of them, and he was more than ready to take action.

The true obstacle they now encountered was her indecision. She had no doubt that what she felt for him was real; she had never doubted it was. Yet, late-night musings of a romantic involvement with her boss had not ever allowed time to consider that it could actually happen someday. To her, until recently, Tony had been a man she had crush on, who also happened to be her long-time boss. If he had never been kidnapped…if he had never sorted out his feelings…

_He wouldn't be here in my house, ready to spend the weekend with me._

Pepper wanted to hit her head on the wall. When she heard him return from his trip to the car to collect their dinner, she busied herself by opening random drawers without really looking for anything in particular. After taking calming breaths and hearing Tony set the take-out on the table, she nodded to herself as she walked out of the kitchen to face him once more.

"I hope you are in the mood for Thai," he told her, almost finishing arranging the table for them. "I got you the least spicy stuff on the menu, just in case."

"Whatever you got me is fine," she retorted, making her way to her two-seat dining table. She sat on one end of it and Tony did as well. He was trying hard not to stare at her, but she could tell he was dying to be able to do just that as if nothing bad had ever happened between them.

"Dig in, Potts, or it'll get cold."

Pepper nodded to him, grabbing a pair of chopsticks and beginning to eat. Tony began eating as well, alternating between taking bites and looking around the small apartment. He could not recall what it had looked before today, as almost every time he had ended up here was by accident and he had been drunk. Yet, the huge pile of papers on her coffee table was not easy to miss.

"Are you working for the post office now, Pep?" he asked, pointing to the documents with a single chopstick.

"Yes, they said someone put in a good word for me, so they assigned me the high-priority task of licking the envelopes."

Tony's _are-you-kidding-me-look_, followed by a loud chuckle coming from him, made her giggle, helping them both with the tension that surrounded them. She took another bite of her food, happy that she had stocked up on antacids, before looking up at him. "So, Bambi got mad at you? Are you gonna go back to work on Monday and find your phone wrapped around in rubber bands?"

"If I'm lucky," he said, earning him another light chuckle from the woman. "I'll worry about it on Monday."

"I'm sure you will. Anyway, thanks for dinner, Tony. I was going to fix us something to eat, but I appreciate you taking over; I was getting kinda of tired after sorting through all those letters and typing up the responses."

"Don't worry about it. You'll have the entire weekend to surprise me with your cooking skills."

"That I do."

They fell into a comfortable silence as they ate their food, each caught in their own thoughts, which were similar in nature, but neither of them wanted to bring up the unfinished business between them, and neither of them did. Their dinner was only interrupted once by a knock on the door, to which Tony tended to, knowing it was Happy leaving the luggage outside.

After finishing their dinner, the non-couple couple spent the rest of the night watching movies and talking about how silly it was for the protagonists on the screen to not know how much they were meant to be together.

The irony was not lost to them.

* * *

**A/N:** A nice chapter for you after the heartbreak and sniffles from the last ones. I hope the pace is not too fast or too slow for your taste. What do you think is going on between Frederick and Pepper? What is Pepper hiding? Oh! BTW, due to life, updates will become slower, as in once a week. Please be patient!


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**DAY 8**

She opened her eyes only to see a wall in front of her, obstructing her line of sight. She blinked a few times to adjust her blurred vision, slightly pulling back her face away from it until her eyes projected to her that the wall had a _face_ of its own.

And, that particular face was eerily similar to Tony Stark's.

_Oh, my God!_

Her body froze up as her mind shuffled through the memories of yesterday: Tony calling her and telling her he was homeless for the weekend; she sending him the fax to invite him over; he arriving at the time she requested, with groceries and take-out in-hand…them watching movies on her couch until…

_Until, what?_

She could not remember, but the panic did not settle for long as she relaxed when she realized they were both still fully clothed, and that his protective arm around her waist was not touching any other parts of her body he did not _yet_ have permission to explore.

He was lying on his left side, his left arm was extended below his head as makeshift pillow, and he was resting against the back of the couch. She was on her right side, facing him in such a close fashion it made her want to put some distance between them just for the sake of calming her hormones, but also knowing that if she backed up even just a millimeter, she would fall from the edge and onto the hard floor.

Suddenly her eyes made a beeline for his lips, partially opened and tempting as hell, and her lips tingled in anticipation. Who would be so lucky as to wake up next to Tony Stark after _spending_ the night with him? Who could ever attest to being the one from which he was not compelled to flee the "morning after?"

Apparently, Pepper Potts was the one to be able to remotely make such a claim. Then again, thus far the sun was to show itself, so perhaps he had not woken up yet because his eyelids had not been bothered by the morning light. Or, maybe –she hoped, he was too damned comfortable lying here with her.

"Tony?" her inquiry was left without a response, prompting her to try to move her arms; it was then that she realized her right arm was secured under him, and her left arm was dangling around his hips with her hand grabbing his…

"Eep!" she yelped, swiftly trying to remove her hand from his ass, but his even quicker reflexes kicked in, using the hand that had just now been resting on her waist to prevent her from moving her own from his behind.

"Don't you dare move your hand, Potts."

Her eyes flew from his hand to his face, his expression the pure illustration of composure and self-control she knew did not currently reflect on her own. He eyed her for a second, as if measuring how much trouble he would dare to get into if he leaned closer to her, but to her dismay, he decided against it at the last minute, opting to close his eyes instead.

"I sincerely hope this is the permanent sleeping arrangement of this establishment," he said, trying to settle back into the highly desirable position he was in.

Her response of pinching his butt cheek forced him to snap open his eyes. The surprise of her own actions was evident on her face, but she could not utter a word.

"HEY! That _hurts_," he playfully complained before adding "…mind doing it again?" and gave her that flooring-smile of his.

"TONY!" she yelled at him, finally finding her voice while trying her best to not fall prey to his seductive grin. She was exasperated, embarrassed and wanting to flee the scene at a moment's notice and yet, at the same time, wanting to take their closeness one step further.

_Wildly conflicted, indeed_,she quoted to herself before his voice interrupted her thoughts.

"As much as I enjoy having you here with me, Pep, I need to stretch. I don't think I can feel my left arm anymore, and I can't imagine yours being any better."

She eyed the positions of their arms, knowing that the awkward positions in which they had fallen asleep last night would come back and haunt them throughout the day. It was no surprise she had not realized her right arm was under him; it'd probably lost all feeling hours ago.

"I guess you're right," she conceded. "So, who moves first?"

"Uhm…" he considered the options. He did not have any room to move, other than forward, but pushing her would mean dropping her from the couch altogether. She could have twirled to safety if her arm was not trapped under his weight, and she definitely could not move forward either. Pulling herself back could cause her to become injured, so either way he saw it, pulling or pushing was not a choice. How had they even ended up like this in the first place? Had they not been sitting on the couch with their legs extended and resting on the coffee table?

"Grab on to me, Pepper," he finally said to her, believing he only had one choice to untangle them.

"I'm already…"

"Tighter," he said, pulling her body closer to his, their noses touching, and the veins in his arms and neck tensing with the effort. "I'm picking you up."

"Picking me…._gah_!" she was interrupted midsentence by Tony surrounding her waist as tight as he could with his right arm before trying to flip her over so that she laid under him on her back, and intending for him to be able to pull himself off her. However, his numb left arm did not cooperate, and while he had been able to place Pepper on her back, he ended up collapsing on top of her when attempting to balance himself above her.

"Ugh…can't…breathe…" she said as she tried to push him off her, feeling the arc reactor digging into her collarbone and chest.

Tony hastily placed his right foot on the floor by the edge of the couch and used his working right arm to propel himself from her. If he had not been worried about crushing her with his arc reactor, he would have found the situation quite humorous and similar to a movie scene they had watched last night.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, worry pouring out of his voice.

"I think so, yes," she replied, feeling the air returning to her lungs and trying not to look too injured for his sake. Nevertheless, she already knew that by this time tomorrow she would sport a hideous bruise in the shape of a circle in the middle of her chest.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure." She said, slowly lifting her body off the couch by resting her weight on her elbows, which inevitably led her face closer to his towering form. Their eyes stared at the other's, Pepper reading in him a clear sign of what his thoughts were, and he seeing in hers the expectation that he would follow through with his obvious intention.

"Pepper…" he whispered to her after swallowing the lump in his throat, leaning down to her. His eyes partially closed and he stared down at her wide open ones before lightly brushing his lips on hers for less than a second until the loud knock on the front door startled them both, sending Tony crashing down on her again with even more force than before.

"Son of a bitch!" he cursed as he scrambled to lift himself off her again, and this time noticing Pepper was painfully rubbing her chest where the arc reactor had hit her.

"I'm so sorry, Pepper. Here, let me take a look," he said, reaching over to undo the first button of her blouse, and not actually realizing that what he was about to do would be seen as something more than just simple concern.

"NO!" she said as she slapped his hand away from her. The hurt look on his face pained her, but she could not be expected to just let him continue with his interrupted task as if it were common between them. "Just…go get the door, please."

"But…"

"Please?" She begged him, still shaken up by the disruption. He nodded and exhaled in frustration as he stood up from her, limping his way to the door and opening it to see the usual delivery boy by the door.

"Healthy Goo —Whoa! It's Tony Stark!"

"Yeah, is that breakfast for two?" he asked as he pointed to the familiar-looking tray.

"Yes, sir, it sure is."

"Good," he said, taking the tray from the kid and slamming the door in his face without further ado. By the time he turned around, Pepper was already up from the couch, pulling down on her blouse to assess the damage while looking in a mirror and hissing at the reflection of her chest. She could already see the bruise forming, and it was going to be one that would lurk around for weeks.

Tony placed the tray of food on the dining table before taking cautionary steps toward her, raising his hands to his sides to show her he meant her no further harm, whether or not it was deliberate. "Honey, I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention to hurt you."

She released her grip on the blouse, turning around and facing Tony with a sympathetic look. She had not meant to react so rudely toward him, but the feeling of pain that came from being poked with a piece of metal straight into your breasts was not the way she had expected to be woken up today. How could he even think that she thought he would purposely hurt her? Then again, he_ had_ fired her just to spite her.

"I know," she said, covering her face with her hands to masquerade her betraying thoughts. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"It's alright," he reassured her, walking even closer to her with small steps until he was inches away from her. "You can punch me if it makes you feel better."

Pepper smiled at him, removing her hands from her face and shaking her head to decline his extremely tempting offer. "Let's just eat."

He nodded to her, and when she thought he was going to back away, he placed his hands on her neck, leaned forward to her face and planted a light kiss on her cheek, as close to her mouth as he could get without actually touching her lips.

"Good morning, Miss Potts," he whispered to her, closing his eyes and not pulling back from her face.

"Good morning, Mr. Stark," she whispered back.

xxxXXXxxx

Tony's face was one of confusion and shock as he stared at the recorded show playing on the screen in front of him. He tilted his head to one side and then the other, picking up the remote from Pepper's lap and pausing the recording before turning to his left side to face her. He rested his left arm on the edge of the couch, behind Pepper, his fingers absentmindedly playing with the sleeve of her t-shirt.

"So, let me get this straight, Pepper," Tony began as he pointed at the television with the remote in his right hand. "This Dr. Ramoray, he got his girlfriend pregnant?"

"Yes," Pepper responded to him while casually resting the side of her head on his stretched arm.

"And, the girl is having twins?"

"Aha," she said with a nod.

"But, only ONE of them is HIS?"

"Right."

"How the hell is that even possible?!"

"I know! I know! It's stupid! But…well, it's also distracting," Pepper defended herself regarding her obsession with _Days of Our Lives_, to which Tony just snickered.

"You never cease to surprise me, Potts. Who knew you had a thing for doctors…or poorly thought-out story plots?" he asked her before pressing the appropriate button to continue playing the recorded soap. He followed his action by casually pulling Pepper closer to him so that she rested her head on his shoulder. Pepper responded to the physical invitation by hugging his waist with both of her arms.

She and Tony sat in silence for a long time as they continued watching the show, waiting for the lasagna she had prepared for them to finish baking. Tony had never had homemade lasagna in his life, so Pepper had jumped at the opportunity of cooking the first one ever for him. Other than his mother, no one had ever willingly cooked for him, and the gesture only reinforced to him that he owed this woman much more than just a handful of bouquets and breakfast croissants.

He tightened his grip on her as he gained courage to slam her with words of truth, followed by the gesture of resting his head on hers. He felt her tense up for a moment but then relaxed under his gentle touch.

"So, how about next weekend we do this at my place?"

"What?" she asked him, not able to remove the surprised tone from her voice.

"This, you know? We…I-uhm…Are-are we…uh…?" he exhaled nervously, swallowing hard as he tried to moisten his suddenly dried throat and licking his lips. "Shit, this can't be this hard."

Pepper lifted her head from his shoulder, looking up at him and smiling at his nervous face. Outside, she looked much calmer than he did, but inside she was the same bundle of nerves. He was trying to make a serious commitment to her, although in not so many words, and she knew this in-and-of itself was a brave, huge step into unknown territory for the former playboy.

"Do you want me to stop by next weekend?"

"It'd be nice."

Pepper's eyes shifted from him to the television as she thought about his invitation. She could not force him to ask her out loud since she had not done so when she invited him over for the weekend, but it did not mean she could not make him sweat a little.

Even though it was clear to them both what their actions and words were leading them to, the smoothness of the entire operation was new to her. She had not dated much before joining SI, but whenever she had gotten asked out the men's propositions had been more blatant than Tony's. She had been asked out by the use of the word _date_ in the question, and she even had gone to bed with a few of those guys after their dates. She was no rookie to the dating field, but it seemed that all the knowledge she had acquired throughout those years was not applicable to them right now.

The transition from friend/assistant to friend/potential significant other had been almost entirely too seamless. One moment they were in his car, she rejecting him and him firing her. The next moment they are sitting on her couch watching movies until the wee hours of the morning as if nothing painful had happened between them, but also highly aware of the unresolved issues.

She had no objections to continue walking down the path he was laying down for her, but the unspoken dilemma she was secretly dealing with Frederick on was ever present in the back of her mind. If only it was easier to just tell Tony the truth. If only her need to protect him from harm did not get in the way of her usual common sense. Alas, she knew she had to keep it a secret until she found an alternative as the truth would not only hurt Tony, but maybe kill him too.

"Pep, are you…Do you not want to come?" he asked her when she had not spoken for a while, fearing she was getting ready to reject him once more.

"What? No, I…I'd love to," she responded, patting his leg with her right hand to emphasize her comfort with the invitation. "I just, uhm…I was mentally reviewing my agenda for the week and I guess I got too caught up in it."

"Oh," Tony said, not entirely convinced and confusing her hesitance with veiled denial. He could not blame her for hesitating, however. The moment she had taken a step back he had fired her; acting like a spoiled brat that did not get the toy he wanted.

He was keenly aware that Pepper was not just any woman he had picked up on the streets; the foundation of their relationship was much more meaningful than he ever thought possible when she had walked inside his office the first day of her job as his PA. He had thought she would quit on him by the end of her first week, and yet here they were, more than ten years later, frolicking with the likelihood of becoming something more than just good old friends.

He had expected some sort of hesitation on her part, but if it were up to him, they'd be packing up her belongings and moving her in to his home, as in _now_. He had spent every day with this woman for such a long time, that the preceding week without her constant presence had been nothing less than torture for him; and he knew about torture, first hand.

These and other similar thoughts had invaded his mind in the past few days, especially before he had picked up the phone and called her. He had profusely apologized and she had accepted his apology. She had offered her home to him and he had gladly accepted it. Heck, they had slept together in the literal sense of the word, and he had enjoyed every second of it more than all the other sex-related acts he'd had with all the other women he'd bedded.

All the signs were there for him, for them, to see and interpret. Why was he circling around the topic? Why had he not just come out and told her he saw a bright future ahead of them? Why was it so difficult for him to just scream to her that he loved her even before he knew he did? Why had he really _lied_ to her?

What were they supposed to be watching, again?

_Fuck it!_

"Pepper…" he began as his eyes fixated on the moving people on the screen. "Look, there's something I have to tell you."

Pepper heard the rare tone of seriousness in his voice, prompting her to pause the recording before turning off both devices. She turned her body to her right so that she faced him completely, an action he mirrored for her.

He kept his left arm on the edge of the couch and used his right hand to hold on to hers. "When I…" he began, sighing loudly as if to recover the courage that had suddenly escaped him. "When I went to see you at your office, I was gonna tell you about me…kicking the bucket…"

"Tony, we've already…you don't have to…"

"No, I do! OK, just, hear me out, please."

Pepper's only response was to nod, biting her bottom lip.

"Alright," he said. "I had just realized that I'd handled the situation all wrong. I should've told you; I should've told you as soon as I found out, but…I didn't. And, that was my mistake, and I've owned up to it, but…but that wasn't the _only_ reason I was there for that day."

Pepper's head hung low, already knowing what he was about to say. She closed her eyes and surrounded his hand with both of hers, wishing she had the guts to be as honest with him as he was being with her. Maybe after Frederick gave her more data she could perhaps tell Tony the truth and get him involved.

"You don't have to say it, Tony. I know…I still _do_, too. But, why don't we, I mean, let's just move forward and see where it goes. Yes?"

When she did not hear him respond, she opened her eyes and looked up only to see his face inches from hers. At some point during her short speech, he had leaned closer and was now staring at her with the same vulnerability he had done so days ago, just seconds before she had been stupid and scared enough to reject him.

This time, however, she was not going to reject him, but she was not going to completely accept him either even though she somehow already had by suggesting they moved forward. She did not like the ambiguity of her actions but at this point not hurting him with her hidden reality was enough for her. The tears of guiltiness made their way to her eyes, however. She tried to fight them back, but the more she did, the more ground they won over her.

Just as in the morning, he kissed the corner of her mouth before tracing her tears with his lips, kissing them away in such an expert and tender fashion Pepper thought he had done so many times before. Even though his gesture was supposed to be comforting, it only brought more tears to her. She closed her eyes and tried to take in deep breaths to calm herself. She could not have an episode in front of him again, and she could already feel her throat constricting.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Pep."

"You didn't…it's just…it's a lot to take in."

"Why?" he whispered to her, pressing light kisses on the side of her face and caressing her cheek with his nose. "Didn't you already know how I feel about you? I mean, I thought it was pretty obvious, Potts…or maybe at least after I figured it out myself."

Pepper chuckled nervously, unable to bring herself to reciprocate his confession even if she almost had just days before. "Mr. Stark, if you continue this, I may start thinking you're reverting to your old ways."

"Never again, Pepper. I've found what I didn't know I was looking for," he said to her, immediately crumbling down her defenses with his bluntness and making her feel like a fucking hypocrite. She had to tell him; she just _had_ to!

"Tony…"

"Uhm?"

"Tony, I…" she began but was interrupted by the loud ding of the oven announcing lunch was ready. Pepper sighed loudly, shaking her head at the terrible timing of the darned appliance, pushing aside any thoughts of confessing to him her dirty secret.

"Lunch's ready, it seems," he stated, oblivious to Pepper's internal argument and standing up from the couch, taking her with him. "Come on, sweetheart. I can't wait to try your cooking."

She let him guide her, and she allowed herself to enjoy the moment. Ignorance was truly bliss, and she knew he would not be this blissful if he knew the truth.

**DAY 9**

The buzzing of a vibrating cellphone woke him up the next morning. He did not even bother opening his eyes as his hand randomly patted the coffee table in front of him, searching for the surprisingly loud device. Knowing they both needed some restful sleep, Pepper had gone off to bed in her room and Tony had made full use of the couch.

However, the truth was that he had actually wanted to share either surface with her, but he dared not cross that boundary just yet so as not to scare her off. He had counted his blessings two nights ago when they had passed out together on the couch by accident, and he would hold on to the simple experience until a better one came around, and he hoped it be soon.

The thought of Pepper freaking out at learning Tony was serious about her made him snort.

_We've been together for over 10 years. Why would that scare her off?_ he asked himself, forcing his eyes to open so he could find the annoying mobile phone and turn it off.

_Maybe that's just why: because you've __**been**__ together for 10 years and all of a sudden you worship the ground she steps on, idiot._

"Fuck you," he responded to his subconscious and finally found the phone under his discarded shirt. He grabbed her newly acquired smartphone (to replace her work cell), and read the screen.

_Message from Frederick Richardson: Virginia, I need to see you today. It's…_

Tony's drowsiness left him in a hurry, the adrenaline making him sit up on the couch and slap his left cheek to push away the remnants of his sluggishness_. _He shook his head a few times and adjusted his vision to read the cut-off message again.

_Who the fuck is Frederick? _He asked himself, knowing that he had memorized every male name Pepper had ever uttered to him, even if he pretended he did not remember them.

His eyes drifted away from Pepper's phone to the closed door of her bedroom to his left, wanting to stand up and burst into her door to demand an explanation he knew he probably did not deserve. However, thinking about it better, he knew such an approach would probably just end up with _her_ firing _him_ from her life.

Yet, the curiosity within was still a killer.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," he told himself, pulling from his recent experience of keeping his illness from her for so long. He continued staring at her bedroom door for a few more seconds as if expecting her to come out of it any moment now, but when the silence surrounding him remained, he looked back down to the phone.

_It can't hurt to look._

He slid the unlocking button on the screen, hoping for a break and smiling when the movement revealed the home screen of the cellphone. Tony had never felt so lucky that Pepper was yet to bother fully customizing her new phone with something as important as a password.

His finger immediately went to the messages section, pulling up the last three that had been received. He first read the oldest one, which was dated three days ago –the same day he had left the flowers in her apartment.

_Dinner on me, tonight. Call me._

The second message had been received last night while they had dinner. He had noticed Pepper's nervousness when she had read the message, but she had told him it was just her mom asking if she was getting another job soon. The said message read: _Found a way to hide it from Tony for now. Tell you about it later._

Tony frowned; the feelings growing inside of him were neither pleasant nor friendly. The idea of Pepper hiding something from him when he was trying to be honest irked him, but then again, he had hidden stuff from her as well, so he was not really one to talk. What was so terrible that she would hide it from him and apparently share it with this Frederick guy?

_Seriously, who the fuck is he?_

Finally, Tony reached the third message, the one that woke him up. He took and held a deep breath as he opened it up, reading the entire contents of it.

_Message from Frederick Richardson: Virginia, I need to see you today. It's urgent. We may have to come out before we anticipated. Give me a call later on after he's gone from your place._

His anger made him tense up, and if he had not needed it, he would have forgotten how to breathe as well. He expertly marked the last text message as unread, forcing himself to not break the phone into a million pieces.

Swallowing hard to contain the scream that was threatening to come out of him, he placed the phone back on the table before staring into nothingness for hours until a freshened up Pepper walked outside her bedroom to greet her guest.

* * *

**A/N:** Anyone care to take a guess regarding Pepper's secret? Anyone? Thanks for your patience. See you next weekend!


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**DAY 10  
**

Tony woke up to the smell of sizzling bacon, making him forget for an instant the reason why such delicious aromas would be near him. When he heard the light humming of a random tune coming from the kitchen, he remembered that he was not in his home, but was beginning the countdown of his last two hours at Pepper's place for the weekend.

Yesterday, it had taken all of Tony's self-restraint to not blurt out questions about Frederick Richardson's identity, or ask about the mysterious man's intentions with Pepper. Every time Tony felt he was about to lose his cool, he had forced himself to remember that Pepper was not a double-crosser, cheater, or back-stabber of any sort. He knew she would have not invited him over if she had no interest in pursuing a deeper relationship with him, or if she was actually seeing someone else. The two of them were friends before anything else, and if he did not want to lose her altogether, he had to play his cards well and trust her as he always had.

However, Tony Stark was _still_ Tony Stark, and his mind had been distracted for the most part of the day yesterday, concocting a million scenarios regarding Pepper's hidden plans. Maybe, he thought, it was not as big as he was making it to be. Maybe Pepper was just planning a surprise for him, and this Frederick guy was just helping out. Maybe he was making something out of nothing, and bringing it up with Pepper would only sever the ties he had almost lost when he had fired her ass from the company she helped keep afloat.

Then again, recalling the content of last text message once more, it sounded to him as if Pepper was in some kind of trouble she did not want him to find out about. He could not think of one good reason why Pepper would not trust him with her problems; he believed she knew he would do anything and everything he could do to help her with whatever ailed his girl. To any outsider, Tony Stark was as selfish as they came, regardless of his philanthropic activities. However, when it came to supporting the ones he cared about, he was extremely more generous than anyone thought he could be.

With this thought in mind, Tony frowned when a concerning insight hit him.

_Maybe that's actually why she doesn't want me to find out_; _she doesn't want me to help her_, he thought bitterly as his eyes focused down the hall that lead to the kitchen where she was making breakfast for him, which inevitably lead him to ask himself _why_, all over again.

Pushing aside the disheartening thoughts, he got up from the couch and stretched his arms above his head. As much as he had enjoyed staying with Pepper, he could not wait to go back home to his bed. Even though he mostly used it to bed women –and he had not done so in months, consecutive nights of constricting sleep space were uncomfortable even for him. His hope was, however, that the next time Pepper invited him over, they would share her bed.

He drug his feet to the guest bathroom, walking inside and staring at his still sleepy-looking face in the mirror and yawning in the process. He walked away from the sink and stood outside the shower, turned on the faucet and waited for the warm water to come out. As he waited, he brushed his teeth before depositing the toothbrush inside a bag of toiletries Happy had packed for him, which Tony intended to leave behind in Pepper's home.

_Just in case I come here again._

The steam surrounding the room announced the water was ready for him, so he quickly undressed and jumped in the shower. The hotness of the liquid helped his muscles relax, instantly feeling his body unclenching. He had been on edge since reading the messages yesterday morning and the water was helping him loosen up a bit, putting his scattered thoughts in order, even.

A knock on the door made him peek out behind the curtain only to see Pepper's smiling face poking inside the bathroom.

"Good morning, Tony. I made you an omelet. Are you almost done here?"

"Morning, Potts. I'll be out in a minute."

"Alright, don't take too long," she said before closing the door. A couple of minutes later, Tony stepped out of the shower, feeling refreshed and hungry. Pepper had been indulging him all weekend, and he could only hope to be as hospitable as she had been with him when she visited him next weekend.

He patted his body and hair dry, but not enough that he felt confident not wetting the outfit he was wearing to work today. He always chose air drying over actual towel drying, so he decided to wrap a towel around his waist and give Pepper an incentive to keep him around.

He stepped out of the room and walked toward the table, finding Pepper already there, waiting for him to arrive. The look of shock at seeing him in just a towel was not lost to him, and even though she had seen him in much less –pretty much nothing, the idea that she was no longer staring at her boss gave his half-naked presence a different effect.

Tony pretended not to notice her light blush as he sat in the chair opposite to hers, licking his lips at the tasty-looking breakfast in front of him.

"You're spoiling me, Potts, you know that? It's gonna be hard to go back to eating burnt Hot Pockets after this." He said to her as he grabbed the fork with his right hand.

"Burnt Hot Pockets? Well, at least your aren't eating them raw anymore," she retorted, thinking of the many times she had nursed him back from an indigestion caused by shoving down his throat an entire box of the pastries, straight out of the freezer.

His stomach was demanding sustenance, and he was ready to comply until a random thought entered his mind which put him on edge, again. "Pepper, are you dying?"

Pepper looked up from her plate to stare at Tony with furrowed brows, confused as hell by his question. She tilted her head from one side to the other, wondering what had triggered the random inquiry.

"Am I dying? What do you mean? Of course I'm not!"

Tony's shoulders deflated, chucking to himself at his stupidity. Why he thought about such a scenario occurring was beyond him. "Nevermind, Pep. I just…I remembered the last time I was near an omelet, and it was not the most pleasant of moments for me."

_ I was going to make you an omelet and tell you!_

Tony's voice of that moment in the airplane echoed inside Pepper's head, allowing her to make the connection, and wondering if _Iron-y_ should be the title of her autobiography. "We're all dying, Tony," she finally said to him.

"Yeah, just, forget I even asked, OK?" he said, putting all his efforts into eating the tasty breakfast. Pepper eyed him for another moment, trying to read his physical cues and wondering if he had meant something else by his question. When she saw nothing more than a starving scientist satiating his need for food, she dismissed the possibility that Tony had found out about her deal with Richardson.

xxxXXXxxx

The search Tony had Jarvis run on Frederick turned out to be useless to him. The man in question currently worked for the R&D department of a multinational manufacturing company, and had no police or other derogatory records of any kind on his plate. Other than the apparent interest in Pepper, Frederick had no questionable background. He was nothing more than an outstanding citizen and successful scientist, which caused Tony to freak out even more. And, if that was not threatening enough for him, the man was not married nor did he have any kids.

_Come out? What would Pepper have to come out of, with him?_

Tony's mind drew a blank as he tapped his fingers on the desk. He had spent the greater part of the morning locked up in his office at SI, trying his best to find dirt on the man, or something –anything, that would answer the question of what secret plot Pepper was working on with Richardson. Other than a secret affair between Pepper and Frederick, he could not think of any other situation that would warrant 'coming out' of anything, and he doubted Pepper and Frederick had partnered up to come out together as being gay.

He eyed the impeccable background check documents on his computer screen, wanting nothing more than to just type up some dirty secret in them and make it true. He knew Pepper would not associate with people that would put her in danger –Tony notwithstanding, nor would she hang around with the wrong crowd, but not knowing anything about this Richardson person was irritating him to no end.

_Pepper, what's going on_? He asked himself for the twentieth time since his arrival at SI. It was ridiculous how a few text messages had affected the life he thought he was in the path of fixing. Just when he had thought he had taken one step forward, he now found himself taking four steps back.

He picked up his phone and dialed the number for the object of his affection and current affliction, hoping to calm his doubts by reminding himself she was still somehow with him. After three rings, the sound of her voice made his heart beat faster than before, and it made him remember one of the reasons why he had done anything humanly possible to keep her around him as long as he had.

_ "Hello, Tony! Miss the vacation already?"_

Tony smiled to himself, reveling in the power this woman had over him, feeling both scared and relieved at how much she knew him. He closed his eyes, reaching out to the space around him as if he was able to somehow teleport himself to her home once more. He could almost smell the aroma of her shampoo, her perfume, and her natural scent, all combined; all of which drove him insane.

"I miss the pampering and the food and, maybe, even the company, too," he answered, trying not to sound as concerned, and needy of her, as he felt.

_"Well, Mr. Stark, you'll be having a chance to have said company once more, in just four days, if –of course, you haven't changed your mind about it. Can that goal help you make it through the day?"_

"Changed my mind? Are you kidding, woman? I can't wait for Friday! However, it might help me even better, if I, say, knew what you're currently wearing, Ms. Potts?"

Pepper chuckled and he could practically hear her rolling her eyes at him. _"I just got out from taking a shower,"_ she teased him, making his eyes snap open.

"Is that code for 'nothing'?"

_"You wish. I'm wearing a bath robe."_

"So, nothing," he pressed.

_"You're crazy, Tony."_

"As a matter of fact, I am," he agreed, switching the handset from one ear to the other before adding to his statement. "I'm crazy about you, Pepper."

The silence that followed his statement made him uncomfortable. He wished he was video conferencing with her so that he could see her face and read her thoughts by just staring at her eyes. On the other end of the line, Pepper bit her bottom lip, smiling widely due to the happiness his statement brought to her, but also crying in sadness at the thought that crossed her mind immediately after.

"Pepper? Was that, uhm…Did I…did I go too far?" he asked her after the silence between them extended for longer than he had thought it would. "I'm sorry if I messed up, Pep. I've never had a girlfriend before. Was that too cheeky? Too soon? Just, say something, please."

Pepper's eyes went wider than she had ever felt them before. Had he just called her his _girlfriend_? Where had that thought come from? Did he even know what he had just said? More importantly, when was the last time _she _dared calling anyone her boyfriend?

_"Girlfriend?"_ Pepper asked, unsure of what else to say to him until he explained himself to her.

"Well, uhm…yeah? Is that _not_ OK with you?"

_"Uhm, Tony…it's just…well…I'm not sure that's…"_ she began, unable to conjure the question or answer she was looking for. _"I mean is that what this is?"_ she finally asked. She did not want to sound desperate, or doubtful, but the news she had received after Tony had left her home today had somewhat turned her world upside down. She had thought she could keep her cool around him afterwards, but so far her belief was not proving itself to be true. Realizing how vested he was becoming in their relationship was turning into a problem for her.

"Well, I-I thought I'd made it pretty clear what my intentions with you are, Pep –what I want for us. And, I thought you were there, too."

_"No, yes! Ugh! Look, Tony,"_ she said, hating herself for making this even more difficult for him. She did not mean to make him beg, but a decision to officialize whatever it was they had was no longer as easy as she thought it would be yesterday. _"I just don't think you understand the definition of a girlfriend, that's all."_

Tony pulled the receiver from his ear to sigh loudly; he did not like where this conversation was heading. "Really?" he asked her, putting the receiver back on his ear once he felt he was not going to go off on her lack of faith in him. "Are you joking, Pepper? What do you think my definition of a girlfriend is?"

_"Well, I don't know what you think it is, but I can tell you it's not a girl you spend more than a night with. Or, or…you know, someone you haven't been able to sleep with yet. Just because we spent the weekend together, it doesn't mean…well, you know…"_

Tony hung his head, holding its weight by placing his left fist on his temple. He exhaled deeply to calm his nerves before speaking again. "I don't wanna fight, Pepper, but I think you have a pretty shitty idea of what I think a girlfriend is."

_"Oh, do you?"_

"Yes, Ms. Potts, I really do."

_ "So? What is it, Mr. Stark? What's your definition of a girlfriend?"_

"Well," he began, staring into nothingness as he put together his thoughts. "It's a…it's a wonderful woman with whom I've spent more than a fourth of my life…and with whom I hope to spend whatever is left of it."

Pepper was at a loss. Years of knowing the impossible man told her this was his way of proposing to her –or at least hinting he was intending to. He never had straight answers to the questions he was asked nor he asked questions in a direct way either. Tony was a man of actions; he interpreted them in his mind and responded accordingly to what his brain told him had just occurred before him. And, in his mind at the moment, the actions taken during the course of the weekend told him that he had become an inhabitant of _Commitmentville_; population: 2.

_"Actually, Tony, that's the definition of a wife,"_ was the only lame response she could come up with.

"That can be arranged," he deadpanned, returning his fingers to the task of tapping on the desk.

_"Look, I don't think having this conversation over the phone is the best way to discuss this. Why don't we take a step back and we can talk about it on Friday?"_

"OK," he answered, knowing it was not he who needed to take a step back, but deciding against putting her on the spot. "That sounds feasible. I can wait, I think."

_"OK. Well, what did you call me for, anyway?"_

"I don't feel comfortable telling you anymore. Maybe I can tell you on Friday?" he answered, knowing that telling her he missed her was probably not going to be well received after their short argument.

_"Alright, well, in that case, I gotta go. I'll see you Friday, Tony."_

"Let's hope," he said, not caring for the tone of disappointment his voice carried.

Neither of them dared to say goodbye, but both silently ended the call as soon as the other went silent.

xxxXXXxxx

Pepper sniffed as she put down the receiver, wiping off a few tears from her eyes. She reached over to the side table to grab a tissue, forcing herself to remain calm and collected. Her guest could not see her breaking apart like this; he would get the wrong impression if he did.

"Virginia?" Frederick asked from his spot at the entrance of her bedroom. "Is everything OK?"

Pepper nodded to him, stood up from her couch as she dried her face, and walked toward him. "Yeah, I just…it's nothing, never mind."

"It doesn't look like it to me, but if you say so. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I am," she assured him, walking inside her room with him and immediately dropping her robe to the floor. Frederick tried his best not to gawk at her, especially since he had seen her naked just an hour ago. However, it was difficult for a man not to look at such a beautiful woman and not have his mind go into the gutter ahead of time.

Pepper laid her back on her bed and closed her eyes. She knew what was coming, and although she had agreed to it, the idea of what it would do to Tony if he found out about it never left her mind.

**DAY 11**

Tony groaned as he stared at the schematics laid out on his desk. He could not believe the simple mistakes his scientists at the R&D Department were making regarding his most demanding project. There was no way in hell he would get the machine working with such incompetent people in charge of the prototype, so it meant he would have to go in there and pull their heads out from the sand.

"Who the hell hired these people? They can't even evaluate the triple integral of this function? And who the fuck thought about using these values for the upper and lower limits?"

Tony pulled the pencil he held behind his ear and began crossing out incorrect data and scribbling his notes on the reports he had been given this morning. He was still extremely unsure about where he stood with Pepper, and this frustration poured out of him in rivers. Even Happy and Bambi had been avoiding him all day.

He was holding onto the pencil with such unnecessary force that it cracked from the pressure it was under when his intercom buzzed. He threw the unusable pencil on the floor in front of him before pressing the button to answer Bambi's call.

"WHAT?" He yelled into the speaker.

_"Mr. Stark, I-I'm about to go out to lunch. Would you like me to bring something back for you?"_

Tony's veins on his forehead twitched. _Yeah, why don't you bring me a handful of competent MIT graduates in quantum mechanics and astrophysics?_

_ "Mr. Stark?"_

"No, Bambi, I'm not hungry."

_"Very well. See you in an hour, Mr. Stark."_

Tony shook his head and pressed the button on the intercom a few times just to make sure no random bystander heard him take out his anger on the papers in front of him. He reached over to the pencil holder to grab a new writing tool, and noted he was burning through his pencils today. His eyes then looked down to the paper he had been writing on before Bambi had interrupted him, only to realize he had forgotten what he had been trying to fix.

"Fuck!" he yelled, slamming his hands on the desk. He took in deep breaths before grabbing the pencil once more and concentrated in recalling what he was trying to achieve.

Or, at least as much as he could concentrate when the sound of his door being knocked on sent him into a dimension of pissed off he had never been in before in his life.

"GO AWAY!" he yelled, not even bothering to look up or caring who it was –one of the perks of being the boss of your own company. His ears picked up the distinct sound of the door opening despite his threat, making his head snap up to face the intruder.

The pencil he was holding in his hand snapped in two, just as the previous ten had done so. He damned the floor in his office to be covered by carpet as it succeeded in muffling the elegance of the steps she took toward him.

"Hi, Tony."

She was wearing a sleeveless, tight and very favoring for her, black dress, knee-length, with a V-neck. The neck stopped just above her breasts, the lapels ruffled on the edge, partially showing the bruise he had given her. She was wearing red pumps that matched the accessorized thin belt around her waist and the handbag she held under her arm. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, and her red lips made her mouth even more delectable for him than it already was.

"Mr. Stark, I heard you are neglecting to eat again."

Pepper swore she heard him swallow as he blinked several times before his hung mouth returned to its proper place. She took the remaining steps necessary to stand in front of his desk, looking down at him.

"Do you mind accompanying me for lunch?" she asked him when she realized he needed a few seconds to recover from his shock.

"Wow," he said before clearing his throat and running a hand through his hair. "You look _amazing_, Pepper," he told her, his eyes running up and down her figure.

"Is that a 'yes'?"

"I'm sorry, a what?"

"A 'yes' to go out to lunch with me."

"No, actually, that was more of a 'hell yeah'."

Pepper smiled at him, and he smiled back, their fight of yesterday almost forgotten. He stood up from his chair, picked up his cellphone from the desk and began circling around it as Pepper looked down and frowned at the broken pencils on the floor. "Tough day?"

"Just frustrating. How did you get up here?"

"Happy escorted me, and Bambi said you might need the distraction. Judging by the cemetery of pencils, I think they're right."

"Nothing a little chow time with my gir-_you," _he corrected himself,"can't fix."

"Good thing I'm here then," she said, deciding to overlook his stumble. "Where do you want to go?"

"Wherever you want to."

"How about some sushi?"

"Sure, why not," he responded, standing next to her and offering his arm to her. She took it and linked them together, allowing him to lead her out the office, the building, and into his car.

"Happy's not driving you?"

"He is, but I have the car here just in case I need to get lost."

"Which happens exactly how often?"

"Every time I hear the word 'meeting'," he joked, prompting Pepper to growl and laugh at the same time.

**DAY 12**

Tony walked inside his home, stripping his business suit in the process and glad that the day was finally over. He hated Board of Directors meetings, but he had no one to send to it in his stead anymore. He had kept himself awake during the meeting by attempting to calculate the odds of Pepper being willing to come back as the company's CEO if he pinky-promised not to fuck up…as much.

He had also spent half of the meeting thinking of possible ways to bring up the subject of her returning to SI with her, but every time he thought he had found the best way, he was stricken with the reality that it did not matter how well-thought his suggestion could be, there was always a chance Pepper could interpret his desperation to have her back as being the only reason he wanted her to stick around.

Then again, could she really blame him for wanting her around at work _and_ at home? It was due to their professional careers that they had come across each other, and their long relationship had been built around the same foundation of work. The physical attraction may have flourished almost instantly between them, but the friendship had taken longer to build. However, without the professional side there would have not been an opportunity to meet, so it was difficult for them to expect an instant separation of their career and personal lives in the blink of an eye.

Tony yawned loudly as he walked down the stairs to his basement/lab, feeling compelled to crash on his couch, but knowing he had some work to do that he could no longer ignore. He had neglected running tests on the reliability of the new element and arc reactor since he had thrown caution to the wind and put it on after Vanko's threatening call. Luckily for him, he was yet to feel any side-effects, and his blood toxicity had been reduced to zero.

"Jarvis, please run a comparative analysis of the Mark I chest piece and the new arc reactor," Tony said, sitting in his chair and waking up his multiple computer screens.

"Is there anything in particular you are searching for, sir?"

"I want to know how the new element interacts with both chest pieces. If the new element is gonna shit out on me, I want to know sooner than later."

"Very well. However, I'm afraid the results will be theoretical-only for the Mark I arc reactor."

"What do you mean 'theoretical-only'?"

"The chest piece for the Mark I is no longer in our possession, sir."

"WHAT?!" Tony yelled, jumping out of his chair and forgetting he had been on the verge of collapsing of exhaustion just a second ago. "What the hell do you mean by 'not in our possession anymore,' Jarvis? Where is it?" Tony asked as he looked around his lab, hoping Jarvis had just forgotten where the device had been placed.

"Miss Potts took the Mark I chest piece with her," the AI informed Tony, making him stop his frantic search.

"Pepper took it? When?"

"The day she stopped by to collect her personal effects."

"Really? How come you didn't tell me?"

"I tried, sir. But you told me you did not want to hear it."

"What? When did I say that?"

"After you watched the video of Miss Potts emptying the guest room of her belongings."

"Oh," Tony said, remembering that horrible day and returning to his chair, making use of it. "That's weird. She didn't tell me she had it, and I didn't see it at her apartment. Did she say why she wanted it?"

"No, sir. But it is my deduction that it holds some sentimental value to her."

"That makes sense, I guess. Did she really think I wasn't going to talk to her ever again?"

"Perhaps. Your actions when you are upset are rather…over-the-top, sir."

"Jarvis, I didn't ask for your opinion."

"There is no need, sir. I provide my opinion willingly."

Tony growled at his lippy AI. "Whatever, well, I guess theoretical values will have to do. I'm not asking for it back."

"Would you like me to e-mail Miss Potts and request it?"

"No, just let her keep it."

"As you wish."

Tony returned his attention to the screens, monitoring the extrapolations Jarvis was running for him, keeping an eye for any major issues with the new element. After several minutes of seeing the values of the analyzed fields falling within the acceptable range, his mind began wandering again, thinking about his upcoming date-weekend with Pepper.

_How can I make it special for her?_ He wondered, knowing that his usual tactics he used on his one-night stands were out of the question. "Jarvis, Miss Potts is visiting us for the weekend."

"That is wonderful news. Her presence here is surely missed."

"No shit, Jarvis. I need some ideas to make it memorable."

"Fireplace, dimmed lights and background music, sir?"

"Obviously, that's a given. But, I don't want to use the usual tracks. Compile me a special playlist for her."

"What reference should I use?"

"I don't know. Something that will tell her how I feel about her. Surprise me!"

"Will do, sir."

"Order some flowers," Tony said as he browsed the web for date ideas. "And book spa services to arrive on Saturday afternoon," he added after seeing an ad for said services on a website.

"Yes, sir."

"What else does Pepper like?"

"She seems happy when you attend your meetings and sign requested documents on time," Jarvis suggested, which only made Tony narrow his eyes.

"Did she tell you to say that?"

"No. These are just my observations recorded in the logs, sir."

"Suck up," Tony mumbled knowing Jarvis would still hear him anyway. "I'm gonna crash, Jarv. Wake me up if you find any questionable anomalies with the new element," the billionaire said as he stood up from his chair, walked toward the sitting area of the basement and dropped himself on the couch.

"Very well. Spa services have been booked for Ms. Potts for Saturday at 4 in the afternoon, lasting three hours; and a bouquet of yellow tulips will be delivered to the front door on Friday afternoon."

"Yellow tulips? What do they mean?"

"In general, tulips represent perfect love. Yellow tulips, more specifically, symbolize a sense of being hopelessly in love."

"Jarvis?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Stop reading my diary," Tony said before closing his eyes and taking a long nap.

* * *

**A/N:** 12 down, 18 days to go :)


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7  
**

**DAY 13  
**

Tony quietly observed the lead scientist in charge of his latest project hosting the weekly meeting to report their progress to the CEO. His R&D group was now required to provide Tony with a status update of every step they planned to take and the results of each step already taken as soon as they occurred. After spending hours correcting their errors, he no longer trusted that his most exciting project in months would ever see the light of day if he was not constantly monitoring the scientists on the team.

_Is this how Pepper felt, having to hold my hand everywhere? _Tony thought, realizing he now had a new respect for his former PA.

He shifted in his chair, trying to find a comfortable position that did not involve him slumping in it as Pepper had always told him it was unprofessional to use the chair for anything other than for sitting straight. He could not recall how many times he had followed her statement with a roll of his eyes and an even more slumped posture, but today he did not feel like showing his laidback side to the incompetent employees he had to deal with.

Then again, it was not as if the men were completely ignorant; they were just not as bright as he to build a miniaturized arc reactor…in a cave…with a box of scraps.

The vibration in his right pants pocket snapped Tony from his thoughts, digging his hand inside it and pulling out his cell phone. The screen showed he had received a text message from Colonel Rhodes, which surprised Tony since he had not heard from the man in almost two weeks. He flipped open his mobile and read the small text on the screen.

"_You paid 1000 bucks for a shopping cart?!"_

Tony furrowed his brows, unsure of what Rhodey was referring to. It took Tony a few seconds of memory recalling to remember the action he had taken almost a week ago.

_"Who told you?"_ Tony texted back to James before returning his attention to the meeting. A few seconds later, his cell phone vibrated again, and this time Tony did not try to conceal his use of the device.

_"It's all over the news!"_

Tony groaned. Of course the woman would try to sell her story to the news! How often did a billionaire pay a hefty sum of money for a free item –at a grocery store, nonetheless!

_"I'll deny it,"_ Tony texted to Rhodey, ending the conversation before staring up again toward the diagram Dr. Wells was explaining to the team. It took Tony two seconds to evaluate the diagram to determine it was accurate before standing up from the chair and heading to the door.

"Follow that chart to the T, and report back to me on Monday," Tony said as he walked away from the meeting. He heard the faint sound of someone saying _Yes, Mr. Stark_, but he did not bother with a reply, wanting nothing more than to leave the room.

As he walked down the hall toward the elevator, he took out from his left breast pocket a small, black velvet pouch. Without opening it, he traced its contents with his fingers, and once he felt comfortable that the item was still inside, he put it back inside his pocket. The task distracted him enough to not see that the elevator doors had been held open by none other than Happy Hogan as Tony entered the small moving room.

"You look out of it, Boss."

Happy's voice made Tony's hand fly to cover his breast pocket for an instant before clearing his throat. He pressed the security code on the screen so that the elevator took him to the fifth floor before digging his hands in his pants' pockets. "Going up to the top floor with me, Hap? It's boring up there; let's have something to drink."

Happy snorted in response. "I wish. I'm still having a hard time getting approval from the Interim Head of Security to let me use the private elevator when Bambi is _pleading_ I go up there to help her with dealing with you."

"What? Why? Didn't Pepper clear you up for that?"

"Yeah, but as soon as she left, the guy revoked my permission. Apparently, Iron Man _doesn't _need a bodyguard, and Bambi should be able to handle herself."

"That's harsh," Tony said, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. "Wait, did you say Interim? We don't have an actual Head of Security right now?"

Happy shook his head. "Nope, he quit when you came out as being Iron Man. Said he didn't want to be defending the company from terrorists and fan girls," Happy retorted with a chuckle.

"Wuss."

"I'll say."

"Well, you're coming up with me, so he can suck it."

"Nah, that's OK, Tony. I actually have to go get the wheels checked out. Some idiot slashed our tires during lunch."

"Really? With all the security cameras around the parking lot?"

"Yup. It was an intern –_former_ intern, from Accounting. He thought his supervisor drove a Royce and he wanted to return the favor of being fired from his internship."

"I'm surrounded by idiots," Tony said, earning him a glare from the chauffeur. "You don't count, clearly," the billionaire clarified.

"Right. Well," Happy said, as he saw the fifth floor's indicator light up and the doors opening. "I'll pick you up in a couple of hours, Mr. Stark."

"OK. See you later, Hap," Tony said as the doors closed and the elevator began its ride to the first floor. Tony stood in front of the door for a moment, thinking about the many things he still had to do before he left for the day, and knowing two hours were not going to be enough. He had wanted to not come to work at all tomorrow, but he knew it would not sit well with Pepper if he left work undone for the sake of their date.

He placed his right hand on his left breast pocket again, feeling the small contraption shift around behind the fabric of his blazer. His eyes darted down to it, his mind playing different scenarios of how to present the gift to her, hoping to find the best way to make his case to Pepper in a way she could not say no to accepting it.

"Mr. Stark?" Bambi called from behind him.

Tony turned around to stare at his assistant, wondering how long she had been standing behind him, and if she suspected what he had in mind for Potts.

"Is everything OK, Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah, just…thinking. Hey, uh, Bambi…are we looking for a Head of Security?"

Bambi returned to her desk and adjusted her thick glasses as she read the organizational chart of the company. After a few seconds of silence, she nodded to Tony before speaking again.

"It seems we have an opening, but a job posting hasn't been officially created by Human Resources. Would you like me to order one?"

"No," Tony said, walking toward his office. "But, please have Harold Hogan be appointed to the position, effective immediately."

With a slight nod and a smile, Bambi began the paperwork needed to promote the former bodyguard to Head of Security of the California location of SI.

**DAY 14**

"I've plotted the flight plan for the mission, sir. We should be arriving in approximately one hour, weather permitting," Jarvis told Tony, still monitoring his vitals and charting the path on the screen of the helmet.

"An hour? God! I need to make this thing fly faster!" Tony responded, still feeling the physical impact of the mission he had just finished half an hour ago. Jarvis had intercepted a communication of the military, letting him know that a group of rebels in Chile had threatened to use weapons of mass destruction against the civilian population, in hopes of overturning the outcome of the latest election. Tony was not really fond of political struggles, but the weapons the rebels had threatened to attack with had his name all over them.

_How many deals did Stane run under the table? _Tony asked himself, growing tired of having his weapons being used for everything except the protection of the helpless.

"Should I add enhanced flight time to the list of improvements for the design plan of the Mark VII?"

"Yes, do that. And, run by me again where we're going?"

"Jazan, Saudi Arabia. An abandoned stash of SI weapons was discovered by a group of thieves, and they have been using them to raid the surrounding small farming villages of their limited resources."

Tony sighed; he hated having to deal with bandits. Bandits were amateurs, out for anything of value and ready to kill for a few bucks. His weapons were highly sophisticated and deadly, and in the hands of unskilled thieves the already lethal artilleries posed an even greater threat to anyone who stumbled upon them.

"When do you think we'll be back home, Jarvis?"

"Assuming flight time, time zone changes and actual battle times, the soonest time of arrival to Malibu will be close the midnight."

"Shit! I promised Pepper I'd be there by 6 and wait for her!"

"I'm afraid we cannot make it back by then, sir."

"Does she know where I am?"

"Per your request, I have not informed Miss Potts of your mission. Would you like me to cancel your meet up?"

"No! Just, uh…if we're not done with the battle by the time she gets home, tell her to make herself comfortable, and that I'll be home as soon as I can."

"I assume you do not wish me to tell her your whereabouts?"

"Not yet, J. I don't want her worrying over my sorry ass if she doesn't have to."

"As you wish. May I also say that we should make this mission as swift as possible, sir? The Mark VI has endured substantial damage and is in dire need of repairs."

"Noted, Jarv. I'm just gonna blow up their stash and return home."

"Indeed."

xxxXXXxxx

"Welcome back, Miss Potts."

"It's nice hearing you, too, Jarvis," Pepper said as she entered the Malibu mansion, luggage in hand, around 7:30 P.M. She headed straight to the room that had been her sanctuary when she worked there, and promptly unpacked her clothes, wanting to be set up before Tony came up from wherever he was hiding. She then headed to the bathroom to place her toiletries in the room, only to find a bouquet of yellow tulips on the vanity, next to a pink gift box.

Pepper smiled wide as she placed her cosmetic bag inside one of the drawers before reverting her attention to the floral arrangement. This time, the flowers did not have any cards to describe their meaning, so she concentrated on the task of unwrapping the gift, and relying on the AI to give her a hint.

"Jarvis, what is the meaning of these flowers?"

"They signify hopeless love, Miss Potts."

"Hopeless love?" Pepper asked, finally getting to the contents of the box: a pair of scented candles, a bag of bath salts, and a bottle of bubble bath scented oil. "Who is hopelessly in love?"

"Mr. Stark, of course."

Pepper looked up to the ceiling, wishing for a moment that Jarvis had a face to read into. "Do you assume he is or did he actually say anything?"

"He is uncertain of your interest in establishing a relationship with him; his actions and casual remarks show as such."

"I see," Pepper said, putting away her gift and walking out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. "Where is Tony, anyway?"

"Mr. Stark is currently not on the premises. He is running late, for which he apologizes, and will be here as soon as possible."

"Is he OK?"

"Yes; he is just wanting to leave all work completed before returning home," the AI responded, not necessarily lying to their guest.

"Oh, OK, well, I guess I have time for a bubble bath, then" Pepper said before preparing the tub for some relaxation time.

xxxXXXxxx

"Sir, Miss Potts has arrived at the mansion."

"Is she mad?" Tony asked, slowly descending to the fields as he approached the location of the abandoned warehouse.

"Negative. She is currently enjoying a bath using the gift I ordered for her."

"OK, good, good. That was a great idea, Jarvis! That'll keep her occupied for a while." Tony said, making a mental note that Pepper liked bath relaxation products. "Hey! Can I have a live feed of that?"

"I don't believe such stimulus is appropriate right before a battle, sir."

"Right, sure…Did she tell you not to show me?"

"No, but I don't believe spying on her while nude is something she would approve of."

"Nude? Ugh, Jarvis, you're killing me!" Tony said, already conjuring not-so-decent scenes in his mind until the beep in his helmet notified him that he had arrived at the site. Iron Man slowed down his flight, gracefully landing a few feet away from the entrance of the building.

"Jarvis, scan the area for any human presences."

"Already have. The warehouse is empty, sir."

"Like I said, easy-peasy," Tony said, looking around himself just for good measure before taking off to the skies and hovering over the center of the structure. The warehouse looked empty from the outside, but his scanners showed it was filled with a boat load of explosives, weapons, and similar items –all bearing the Stark brand. If Jarvis had not picked up the signal, the thieves would have had years-worth of tools at their disposal.

"Let's do this with one hit. Charge up the chest RT."

The loud hum of the arc reactor building up lasted for about five seconds before Tony aimed its hit down below. The explosion was almost instant and widespread; leaving almost no doubt that only ash would remain.

Tony, however, wanted to make sure there was nothing left. He aimed all of his remaining weapons, including the ever-handy flares, towards the burning building underneath him and let go. The shower of attacks poured down on the remaining boxes, and even in the protection of his suit he could feel the intense heat emanating from the inferno below him.

"Are we clear now, Jarvis?"

"Evasive maneuvers activated."

"What –UGH!"

Tony could not finish his statement as a barrage of high-caliber bullets hit his back. He tried turning around to face his attackers, but instead received a direct hit from a Stark-designed Rocket-Propelled-Grenade. The impact blew off a significant part of the suit between his stomach and his right upper leg, and effectively disengaged the connection between the arc reactor and the repulsor of his right hand, hindering Tony's ability to balance the suit in the air.

"_Fuck!_ Jarvis! Chest RT!"

Jarvis immediately responded to his creator's command, directing the ray of the chest RT in every possible direction, minimizing Iron Man's vulnerability to the sudden attack of the returning thieves. The combination of the alternating attacks needed to keep Tony alive caused the left boot's thruster to burst, leaving Tony to try and balance his act inside a suit that weighed more than his cars.

"JARVIS! Backup power!" Tony yelled when he felt the weight of the suit become unbearable, but his AI did not hear him. Jarvis's efforts to protect his master had effectively emptied the power of the arc reactor, disconnecting the link to his online butler, and sending Tony's body inside a ton of metal scraps plummeting to the raging fire that had once been the warehouse.

**DAY 15**

Pepper paced the entrance of the garage, stopping every now and then in hope that she heard the unmistakable sound of the Iron Man suit approaching. Ten hours ago, Jarvis had notified her that Tony had actually spent the later part of the day in two back-to-back missions, and the moment the connection was lost between the centralized location of the AI and the suit, Jarvis made the executive decision to notify Rhodey and Pepper of Tony's status.

Rhodey had been halfway out of California in his War Machine suit by the time Jarvis finished briefing him, and Pepper was in tears, her body racking with sobs and asking Jarvis every five minutes if Tony had been found.

"I'm afraid I have not been able to establish a connection with Mr. Stark. Colonel Rhodes is still searching the area."

"God, Jarvis! I can't…What am I supposed to do?"

Pepper felt helpless. The last time Tony had disappeared in the Middle East she had had the power of SI behind her, allowing her to use any available resource to find him. Rhodey was still a great help, but the military was still pissed off that they were not able to get their hands on the actual diagrams of the Iron Man, effectively bursting their dreams of mass producing the coveted piece of technology, so Rhodey was all they were going to get for now.

Pepper was by no means a religious person. She never attended church or considered herself belonging to any particular creed. However, it was moments like this she held onto any god that would listen to her, praying and pleading with him that Tony returned safely, and in one piece, to her. Every time he was out and about in some forsaken place carrying out a mission, she could not help but picturing the first time she had discovered him wearing that _motherfucking_ suit she loathed so much, and knew it would be responsible for his end.

_Are those bullet holes,_ she had asked him, and the image was forever burned in her memory. The smoking, scrapped, scratched, torn, bullet-holed piece of shit he loved so much was going to someday take him away from her.

Or, her from him; it was only a matter of time.

"Miss Potts, please remove yourself from the entryway of the garage, immediately," the AI said, shaking Pepper out of her thoughts.

"What? Why? Is Tony here?" Pepper asked, walking even closer to the ramp.

"Miss Potts, _please_, it's for your own safety. Seek cover behind the stairs," Jarvis insisted, unlocking the doors for her and turning on the light of the hall to emphasize his point.

"Please, Jarvis! Is it Tony? Is he back?" Pepper said, still not heeding Jarvis's advice.

"Pepper!" Jarvis yelled, knowing the use of her nickname coming from him would shake her out of her state of confusion. "Mr. Stark is in range but his suit is not properly functioning. He may…"

"AHHH!" Pepper's scream cut off Jarvis's explanation as she heard and watched the suit resemble a pinball, scratching the walls and bouncing everywhere as it came down the garage ramp. Jarvis's warning finally made sense to her, and while she was unable to make it to the stairs as he had instructed, she ran toward the farthest car and hid behind it, ducking down and covering her head with her hands.

Every time she heard the metal scrapping or hitting the surfaces she cringed, the loud impacts taking with them a small piece of her heart. The scramble of the suit was accompanied by the destruction of a good portion of the newly remodeled basement. She closed her eyes as she heard tables being toppled over, the car alarms being set off, and the shattering of glass everywhere.

Once the noise came to an end, she gulped, slowly removing her hands from her head and standing up. The basement looked worse than she would have imagined, especially when she saw Dum-E running around with a fire extinguisher in its mechanical arm, dousing anything and everything that was out of place and within its limited reach.

"Tony?" Pepper called out to him, unable to see his form anywhere. She rounded the car, but stopped when she saw the floor was covered in debris. "Tony! Please, answer me!"

"Ms. Potts, Mr. Stark is underneath the pile to your left."

Pepper wasted no time and ran toward him, her bare feet walking over shards of glass, embedding themselves in her skin, but she did not care. She kneeled down on the torn metal on the floor, and began pulling off the heap of rubble whatever she could lift. Behind her, Butterfingers was making a path it could travel on to assist Pepper with unburying its creator before it was too late.

"Jarvis, is he alive? Can you read his vitals?"

"I'm afraid I cannot. The suit is running on emergency backup, and most of the links between the suit and myself are offline. I've notified Colonel Rhodes of Mr. Stark's arrival, and he is on his way back from Saudi Arabia."

"Dammit, Tony! You better not die on me, you jerk!"

With the help of Dum-E, both bots made it to where Pepper lay, immediately tasking themselves with helping her lift the heavy objects she could not move by herself. Her hands were covered in blood, caused by multiple cuts she was earning as she tried to find any sign that Tony was still alive.

"Tony, please, _please_, don't leave me, please," she begged him, but stopped her whispering when she found his partially suited hand.

"HELP ME!" she screamed to the bots, who instantly stepped up their cleanup efforts. In a matter of minutes, Pepper was able to find Tony's face, partially exposed due to the helmet's missing portions, and eventually the debris was completely removed from him.

Her eyes scanned his body, noting the damage was worse than ever before. Parts of his suit were completely gone; the skin exposed was bloody, burn or both. Of the remaining parts of the suit, most of them were charred or melted onto other parts, making it difficult for her to know what was what. The light of the arc reactor was blinking on and off, struggling to stay lit but trying its hardest to stay alive.

"Jarvis, what do I do?"

"We need to do an initial scan of his vitals by manually connecting the arc reactor to my server. The suit must be removed as much as possible, but I recommend we wait on that until it is confirmed no broken bones are present."

"How do I connect him to you?" Pepper asked only to see Dum-E carrying one end of said cable to her. She met the bot halfway, taking the cable from the robot and returning to Tony.

"Talk to me Jarvis. Now what?"

"Find the emergency link located underneath the arc reactor. There is a small compartment that when pressed, it exposes the opening where the cable is connected to it."

"OK, OK, give me a moment here," Pepper said, sniffling and wiping her tears away with the sleeve of her shirt. Her fingers traced the bottom portion of the arc reactor until she felt the depression of the suit. She pressed on it and the cover popped open, revealing the plug Jarvis had just instructed her about.

"I found it, I found it," Pepper said, forcing her trembling hand to insert the cable where it belonged. It took only a handful of seconds for the screens to come to life with the data of Tony's vitals, but for Pepper it felt like a lifetime had gone by.

"His vital signs are weak, but an initial scan shows no internal bleeding or broken bones. Ms. Potts, you must remove the suit to replace the arc reactor. It's at 5% capacity, and it may stop working at any moment."

Pepper stood up and looked around her, searching in the mess that was the basement for anything that would help her jimmy the suit. She saw a single screwdriver and a crowbar on the floor and she rushed to them. She began with the chest to expose the arc as Dum-E and Butterfingers worked on dislodging the rest of the suit from Tony's body.

"Tony, you owe me a date, so hold on for me, OK? Just, hold on."

Every time she pulled a piece of the chest armor, the reactor turned off longer than the previous time. Her heart was beating out of her chest, fearing one of those times the reactor would not turn back on again. Once the chest was exposed, Jarvis directed her to the location of an old version of the arc reactor, buried under one of the vehicles.

"Since the Mark I chest piece is beyond our reach, we will have to use this prototype, which still requires palladium as its power supply."

"P-palladium? Wouldn't that kill him?"

"Not unless his exposure is constant. This is his only chance of survival, Ms. Potts."

"OK, alright. Where are the palladium disks?"

"They are scattered around the room. I will direct you to them."

Pepper did as told, walking around the premises and digging for the palladium disks. She tested each one inside the arc reactor, but all of them so far had been damaged with Tony's erratic entrance, forcing her to test each one multiple times. Finally, the second to the last disk was still fully functional. She locked in the disk before running back to Tony, who was yet to open his eyes.

Remembering how she had removed the arc reactor before, and with Jarvis's guidance, Pepper was able to switch the broken reactor with a palladium one, which immediately took to Tony and made his back arch when the power ran through his chest.

"Tony?"

Tony blinked a few times, opening his mouth to speak but only whimpers came out of him. Pepper cradled his head on her lap, tears returning to her eyes.

"Ssshh, Tony, don't talk. You're back home; you made it back."

"Pe…r…" he said, the dryness of his mouth making him cough, but not stopping him from trying to speak again. "…e….u….p….r."

"Please, Tony, calm down. You can tell me whatever you want tomorrow…or later on," she amended her statement, realizing it was near 7 in the morning on Saturday.

"N-n-noo, Pep…r…ve…u…"

"Sshh, Tony," she whispered to him again. "Jarvis, what else can I do?" She asked, leaning down on Tony and pressing her face on his forehead so that he would stop exerting himself.

"Colonel Rhodes is on his way. He should be here in less than two hours. He can assist with freeing the floor from the heavy debris so that you can access the compartment under the basement where the arc reactors powered by the new element are hidden."

"And in the meantime?"

"Make Mr. Stark as comfortable as possible until he can be moved. I contacted Mr. Hogan half an hour ago, and he will be here in the next fifteen minutes to help lift Mr. Stark from the floor."

Pepper nodded, the adrenaline leaving her and the tears clouding her vision. "Thank you, Jarvis. Thank you so much."

"My pleasure, Ms. Potts."

xxxXXXxxx

The next time Tony opened his eyes, he was surrounded by darkness and silence. It took his eyes a moment to adjust, but when he was able to focus, he recognized the signs that he was in his room back in Malibu. For an instant he did not recall when he had gone to sleep, but after searching his mind, he remembered the almost deadly mission, the terror of not knowing if he would make it back to Pepper and the pain her cries for him brought him.

_Pepper._

As slowly as his body woke up with him, the pain awoke, too. He began feeling his body covered in what he figured were bandages, and he was glad to know he had not been taken to the hospital. He could not trust the doctors to know what to do about his arc reactor, and if he could avoid visiting them altogether, he was a happy camper.

His mouth was still dry, but he felt fresh and cleaned. He did not feel anything broken or out of place, but his muscles were now screaming in pain.

He slowly turned his head to his right, reading on the clock that it was nearly midnight, Saturday. He had wasted two days of Pepper's weekend already, and she would be returning home in a few hours, his plans of making her weekend special gone down the drain.

"Jar…cough…Jarvis?" Tony whispered, knowing his reliable AI would hear him. However, when Jarvis's response came in the form of the alarm clock switching from showing the time to showing letters, Tony had to wonder what the AI was up to.

_"Hello, sir,"_ the alarm clock read.

"Why aren't you talking, J?" Tony whispered again, finding out it was easier to speak than earlier today, and waiting for the alarm clock to respond.

_"Ms. Potts is asleep on the chair."_

Tony's head moved to his left, narrowing his eyes and noting the faint silhouette on the small chair and ottoman in the corner of his room.

"How long has she been asleep?" Tony asked.

_"Not long enough,"_ the red letters read.

"Is she OK?"

_"Yes, just tired,"_ the AI said before erasing the last message and replacing it with a new one. _"She saved your life, sir."_

"I take it I'm gonna live to thank her?"

_"Yes."_

"Good. Is anyone else in the house?"

_"No."_

"Recovery time?"

_"Two weeks, minimum."_

"Does she know?"

_"Yes."_

"Dammit. Why did you tell her?"

_"She wanted to know…"_ the first half of the message showed for an instant before revealing the next half_. "…how much to pack."_

"Pack?"

_"She's staying."_

"Here? Really? For two weeks?"

_"Yes."_

Tony smiled, wanting to jump off the bed and run to her. However, he had to resort to having his eyes do the happy dance for him, as his muscles refused to move at all. Knowing Pepper would be in his home for two weeks, and that he was gonna live after the ordeal of his almost last mission, was all the reassurance he needed for now to give in to the tiredness, and to continue his rest for the remainder of the night.

* * *

**A/N:** Hello, my Faithful Readers! I'm getting crunched for time, and trying to keep up with four stories is confusing me and killing me. So, I've decided to write nonstop for 30 Days for the next week, hoping to finish it before next weekend. Hope you like it so far!


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**DAY 16**

"Tony? Tony, wake up please. You have to eat something, Tony?" Pepper begged of the billionaire, sitting on the edge of his bed, and slowly stroking his face.

"Don't…wanna…work…Potts…" he mumbled to her, eyes refusing to open, face leaning into her touch. Even in the aftermath of his near-death experience his trademark pouty look still brought a smile to her face.

"Mr. Stark, either you get up or I'll have to go put on some clothes."

It took half a second for his eyes to snap open and stare at her up and down. His look of anticipation quickly changed into one of annoyance when he realized she was not at all naked, but wearing pajama shorts and a matching t-shirt.

"I didn't take you for the lying kind, Pepper."

"I didn't take you for the dying kind, Stark."

"Dying? Am I…oh, shit!" He said as he remembered the events of the night before and sat up on the bed a bit too hastily for the taste of his head, which retorted to his fast move by throbbing and blurring his vision for an instant.

"Whoa…fuck…that _hurts_…"

Pepper shifted closer to him, surprising him when she embraced him tightly, resting the side of her face in the crook of his neck.

"Don't you _fucking_ scare me like that again, Tony," she told him in a tone that was meant to be scolding but caring at the same time. Tony returned the embrace, mimicking her pose as much as he could at their awkward angle on the bed, and he knew Pepper meant every word she had just said to him as she did not resort to cussing out loud if she could help it.

"I'm so sorry, Pep," he whispered to her, kissing the side of her face as he spoke. "It was supposed to be an easy mission. It wasn't supposed to be like this."

"Ten hours, Tony. Ten _hours_ without knowing about you other than you had been ambushed in the middle of nowhere. God! And then, when I saw you come in, and you were in…parts! I just…I…just…" she began but could not finish her sentence as memories of his dead-looking face returning to her pushed her to strengthen her grip on him, feeling the tears trickle down her face but holding back the sobs.

She had already cried for many hours for him while he slept off the injuries, and she thought she could hold it together once he woke up but again she had been wrong. Feeling him close to her, comforting her, his scent attacking her senses; it was just too much for her to imagine what she could have lost out of if he had not been able to come back to her again.

"Honey, I'm sorry. I wasn't planning on dying out there. I thought I'd be back before you arrived. This is not how I wanted our weekend to turn out."

Pepper scoffed. "Tony, I don't _care_ about the weekend. I'm just happy my _boyfriend_ made it back to me, alive."

She felt him tense up under her embrace for a moment. His mind slowly processed her words before he exhaled deeply, chuckling lightly and placing multiple kisses on her face as he pulled back from her to stare at her.

"Always, Pep. There's no getting rid of me."

"I wouldn't want to," she told him with a half-smile that seemed out of place among the tears and puffed eyes. He cupped her face in his hands, leaning down to her and capturing her lips in his. She responded to his kiss without hesitation, placing her hands on his waist and fisting his shirt too tightly, scratching his burned skin.

"Yowza!" he complained, making Pepper pull back and notice she had just pressed on one of his major injuries; the one he had received from the grenade.

"Oh! Jesus!"

"My name is Tony," he joked, his face contorted into one of pain but trying for her benefit to hide it as much as he could.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Pepper said, standing up from the bed, her hands hovering over him as he leaned back on the bed and held the sore spot with his overlapped hands.

"It's alright," he told her, hyperventilating through the pain. "But, next time, babe, you'll need to tie me up to the bed if you're gonna be this rough with me, alright? Make it worth the pain."

"Tony!"

He chuckled at her shocked expression, but finding the comment had amused her anyway made his day. It was then his eyes darted to the white _gloves _she wore, and for the first time since his eyes had opened, he noticed the gloves were actually bandages around her delicate hands.

"What the…Pepper?" He asked her, his eyes wide in surprise. He then took a good look at her standing form, and saw her arms and legs were bruised and scratched, and her feet matched the white coverings of her hands.

"_What _happened to you?"

Pepper bit her bottom lip. She had forgotten she also looked worse for wear, and even though she had not yet figured out how to inform him of what she had to do to pull him out of the Valley of the Dead, she knew the moment he saw her injuries he would demand to know everything that happened after he had returned from Jazan.

"Tony, it's OK, your injuries are much worse than…"

"NO!" he interrupted her, forcing himself to sit up on his bed and telling his headache to fuck off. He did not feel as tired as he had felt when he had woken up in the middle of the night, but his muscles still ached as if he had ran two marathons, non-stop, while being hit by anvils the entire way.

"It's _not_ OK! OK? How did you…? Who….? Pepper,_ gosh_!" he rambled on as he stood up from the bed, wobbling a little but finding his footing almost immediately.

"Tony, get back to bed. You have another run of Vicodin waiting for you after you eat," she said to him as she attempted to push him back onto the mattress. To Pepper's surprise, Tony stood firmly in place as a rock, despite her best efforts to get him to settle down. His hands flew to her bandaged ones for close examination, causing him to frown even more when he saw the bits of dried blood clinging to them.

"Who did this to you, Potts? Who the hell hurt you?" he asked her, his eyes raging with fury. It was then Pepper realized he did not remember much of his miraculous return, or the fact that she had to scrounge through the mess in the basement to help him avoid certain death.

"Tony…I…well, you…"

"Was it Frederick? Did he do this to you?" he spat to her, his voice louder than she had ever heard him before –or at least directed at her. She had heard him in his full-rage mode a few times before, but he had only used this tone when dealing with incompetent employees or annoying paparazzi.

"Did that son of a bitch touch you?" he pressed on, forgetting for an instant he was _not_ supposed to know about him, or maybe not caring about it at all.

Pepper's expression was one of surprise at the fact that Tony knew the name, but her shock then turned into anger and fright combined, wondering about what else the billionaire knew about her partner in crime.

"Who?" she asked him, pretending to be confused and testing the waters before she said anything else that could compromise her secret.

"You know damn well _who_ I'm talking about, Pepper!" he responded, his anger blinding the little common sense he had in him, and overriding his usual respect for her. "Your secret boyfriend? The one who asked you out to dinner the night I brought flowers to your place?"

Pepper narrowed her eyes at him, calibrating her answers in her mind before stating them.

"Ex-boyfriend, Tony," she told him, knowing it would only send him over the edge of anger, but knowing he would not volunteer the information she needed from him at the moment unless he was upset with her.

"E-ex? EX-Boyfriend?"

Pepper shook her head at him in disapproval, exhaling in exasperation as she turned on her heels and headed to the exit of the room. Fighting his pain and driven by his anger, Tony followed Pepper out the room, down the stairs and into the living room. "Don't you walk away from me, Potts!" he said as he pointed at her back. "I think I deserve an explanation!" he demanded, not sure if his anger was due to finding out there was more to Richardson than he had been able to find himself, the fact that Pepper seemed to be defending the guy, or that Pepper had been injured while he was away.

Pepper scoffed at him, looking at him behind her shoulder to make sure he was still following her into the kitchen. "An explanation? Sure! I'll give you one once you tell me how you know about him if I've never mentioned him before."

Tony cleared his throat, feeling its dryness come back with a vengeance. He thought about his response for a minute as Pepper moved around the kitchen and filled a glass with water and took two Vicodin out of the bottle that lay on the counter.

Tony eyed the water, licking his lips in anticipation; he had not had anything to drink in almost two days, and he knew she knew it. Pepper walked closer to him and handed him the two pills, which he begrudgingly took from her but would have happily traded for the glass of water.

"Want the water?" she asked him, and he nodded slightly. "Then swallow these and answer my question. How do you know about Freddie?" she asked again, handing him the fresh liquid. Tony threw the pills inside his mouth before chugging down on the contents of the glass, his parched throat thanking him for the relief.

He handed the glass back to Pepper, and she accepted it before returning to the fridge and filling it up again for him. Tony wiped his mouth with the back of his bandaged hand and then ran the same hand through his hair.

"His text message woke me up."

Pepper eyed him carefully, mentally recapping the contents of the text messages from Frederick in her phone. He was very careful not to talk about the details of their arrangement in writing, leaving that option for when they met in person and were alone.

The glass was full again, and she returned to Tony, handing him a second helping of the water he badly needed to recoup. He took one sip of it, licked his lips and continued his explanation to her.

"I wasn't trying to spy on you, if that's what you're thinking," he said before drinking half of the contents of the glass in one gulp. "But his first message threw me off and I just kept reading. You never used to hide anything from me before, Pepper –like, taking the arc reactor without telling me," he said to her, and her eyes widened for an instant before she regained compose once more, allowing him to continue.

"But then when I saw his other messages…and I thought he was blackmailing you or something worse, well…" he said, gulping down the remainder of the water.

Pepper took the glass from him and put it inside the dishwasher, giving her back to him as she determined exactly what to tell him to put him at ease.

"He's just an old friend, Tony. He heard I was out of a job and he offered me one," she said before turning around to face him once more. "We just haven't made it official because we're still sorting out some details, and I haven't accepted it yet."

"Oh," Tony said, his eyes shifting from side to side as he rubbed the back of his neck in slight embarrassment. "I didn't think it was a big deal at first, so I didn't tell you I knew about him, but…when I saw your hands…I don't know why I thought…"

Pepper nodded, walking up to him and holding his hand in hers. The look in her eyes told him it was already forgotten, and that there were more pressing matters at hand. She then silently led him to the dining table where two bowls of soup awaited them. The food had already cooled down some, but steam was still present.

"Have a little bit, please. Your stomach will be upset if you take the medicine while it's empty."

Tony nodded and sat in the chair, taking the spoon in his hand and sipping the soup. Pepper pulled her chair close to his, taking her own bowl of soup and spoon with her to encourage him eating it with her.

After a few spoonfuls of the sustenance, Tony turned to stare at her again, shame written all over his face. "I didn't mean to yell at you, Potts –or doubt you. I just…I just love you so _darn_ much it hurt to think that you and he…I'm sorry."

Pepper hung her head, playing with the edge of the bandages on her hands and trying to hide the blush that crept up to her cheek at hearing him say the l-word to her. Even though he had already implied it in many ways, there was no substitute to actually voicing the words.

"This is why I told Freddie I shouldn't accept his offer until I was sure it was going to be OK with you. I told him if you found out before that, that you'd hunt his ass in your suit."

Tony chuckled, lifting her face by her chin to look at her blue eyes. "Dammit, Potts, you know me so fucking well."

Pepper swallowed hard, trying not to show how factual his statement truly was. Yes, she knew him very, very well; too well, in fact. And while he found the ability amusing, she found it to be a curse she had to bear.

"So," he said, standing up from the chair and bringing her up with him. "How did you get hurt?"

Pepper's second of happiness disappeared, and he immediately saw the conflicting emotions in her eyes. She tried her best for her eyes not to drift to the basement, or at least keep the gesture from him, but before she knew it, he was already heading to the stairs.

"Tony! Stop!" she called out to him, but he didn't listen.

"Jarvis, how did Pepper get injured?" Tony asked his faithful companion, but even the AI sounded hesitant to tell Tony the news.

"Sir, we were pressed for time. It had to be done," Jarvis responded, not truly giving up the true answer just yet, but knowing Tony would understand once he eyed the current status of his basement.

"What the hell?" he mumbled, walking inside what had been his lab when he had left on the mission, and was now nothing more than a sad, little landfill. Dum-E and Butterfingers were hard at work, sorting through the piles of unrecognizable trash, but by the looks of it, there was very little that could be salvaged from the rubble.

"Your suit was malfunctioning. Your landing was not your most graceful one yet, sir."

Tony's right hand went to his arc reactor remembering how he had cheated death once more. "I –I fell down through the roof, to the fire," Tony said as he approached the middle of the room, Pepper standing behind him, listening to his story.

"The suit was so heavy, and it was so hot! It was hard, but I crawled my way out of the building before it collapsed on itself."

"My systems were not able to reconnect with the suit," Jarvis interjected. "Miss Potts assisted me in performing a manual analysis and reboot."

Tony looked back to Pepper. She was hugging herself as if cold, and she could not face him, knowing the guilt that would soon befall him. He tried to figure out what kind of reactor he was currently using, but the bandages covered most of his chest under the shirt.

"I hotwired the suit so that it used my own reactor for power, and I got the repulsors to partially work again, but it wasn't perfect. It took me a long time to find my way back –I was flying blind and unsteadily."

"We used a palladium core to revive you, at least until Colonel Rhodes arrived and assisted in clearing the way to reach your new cores," Jarvis informed Tony.

Tony directed his eyes to the hidden compartment under his assembling machine, and it was then that he saw the dark red stains on the floor. He followed the stains with his eyes as they formed paths back and forth from around the room, some of them just being small specks, but others showing the clear imprint of feet.

_No._

He turned around to face her again, and she had her hands clasped together on her chest, silently pleading him to not become upset again. The words Jarvis had said to him last night came back, making even more sense now that he saw the reality of her efforts.

_"She saved your life, sir."_

Tony gulped. The bandages around her feet and hands, the cuts and scrapes that marred her body, the dark circles of sleepless nights…they were there because of him. They were her battle scars; her proof that she had done anything in her power to keep him alive, despite what the task meant for her safety.

The guilt weighed more than his suit had yesterday but it did not prevent him from taking long strides to reach her. He held her hands in each of his, bringing them to his lips and thoroughly kissing each one. Pepper's eyes welled up with tears, matching his moist ones.

He placed her hands on the sides of his face before pressing his forehead on hers, and rested his hands on the sides of her neck, chocking on his words. "Pep…thank you, _thank you_, I…I kept thinking about you, on my way here…I just wanted to come home to you, tell you…tell you everything…not to hurt you…not to cause you to…"

"I know, Tony. I know," she interrupted his guilt-ridden speech, which pained her to listen. "You don't have to explain anything. And, the flowers…you're wrong. It's not hopeless…_you_ are _not_ hopeless."

He tried to chuckle but what came out was more a combination of a whimper and a laugh. He had never felt so simultaneously happy, sad, excited and scared in his entire life, but he loved every second of it. "I'll show you, Pepper. I'll show you what you mean to me."

"I already know."

"No. You don't know the half of it yet," he told her before pressing his lips on her once more, this time more fervent than before. He pushed her with him until her back hit the wall behind them. He responded to the sudden lack of space by lifting her up, allowing her legs to surround his waist. He opened one eye and alternated staring at her face and down at the steps as he carried her up the stairs. He was yet to recover his full strength, so he was only able to get them near the couch in the living room, dropping his body on the floor with Pepper on him.

Pepper pulled away from him, realizing that he was still injured, and so was she, and perhaps continuing down the path their actions were taking them was not appropriate at the moment or helpful for their recovery.

"Tony, stop…not now…later…" she said, catching her breath but still placing chaste kisses on his lips. He closed his eyes, enjoying her attentions and wanting more but also knowing she was correct. The last thing he wanted was a repeat of him falling on top of her and causing her getting another bruise on her already battered body.

"I know…I know, Pep…but…I want to…"

"Later…I promise…later," she reassured him.

Tony groaned but accepted, opening his eyes and staring at her. Now that the rush of excitement was coming down, he could feel the effects of the Vicodin abruptly kicking in. His head began wobbling, and he was having trouble keeping his eyes opened, but he was willing to try his best if only to feel her close, alive, and with him.

"Come on, Tony, it's getting late," Pepper said, knowing that another night of rest was what Tony really needed right now, despite his lusting side telling him otherwise. "It's getting dark, let's go to bed."

"No," he managed to say as she helped him get up from the floor by leaning on the couch. He surrounded her shoulders with his right arm, trying not putting all of his weight on her, but struggling to remain awake long enough to crash on his bed.

"Almost there, Tony. Almost there."

Thankfully for her, the door to his bedroom was still open, and she used the last bit of her strength to help him settle on the mattress. She moved him around as much as she could to make sure his head was on the pillow, and that he was not too close to the edge of the bed before feeling his body become more and more deadweight.

"Pepper…don't…leave…"

"I'm not going anywhere, Tony. I'm staying here until you feel better."

"No…stay…bed…" he said, feeling the last vestiges of control over his fuzzy brain running out. She walked back to the door to close it, which caused Tony to think she was walking out on him, giving him a small jolt of energy needed to roll himself on his side and reach out his arm toward her. "Don't…please…"

"I'm not leaving," she said, rushing back to him after closing the door and rolling him on his back. His half-opened eyes followed her as she climbed on the bed next to him, finding the right spot for her head on the pillow.

"Sleep, Tony. I'll be here when you wake up."

"Promise?"

"Yes."

She smiled at him to reassure him, and he nodded before his eyes finally closed. He felt his body shutting down on him, but he still had enough energy to whisper to her one last time.

"I love you, Pepper Potts."

**DAY 17**

The next morning, Pepper woke up to pain in her stomach, making her bolt from the bed and run into Tony's bathroom. The sudden movement followed by the sound of the slamming door startled him awake, and he shook his head to scare off the remnants of the drowsiness caused by the Vicodin.

"Pepper, are you OK?"

She did not respond per se, but the painful-sounding regurgitation was all the answer he needed to rush to the door and pound on it, trying desperately to turn the locked knob.

"Potts, what's going on?"

"Ulcers!" she yelled back at him before another wave of bloody vomit left her innards. She coughed and vomited, clutching onto the edges of the porcelain throne until there was nothing else to heave.

"PEPPER! PEPPER TALK TO ME!"

Pepper used one hand to flush the gruesome contents of the bowl, while another hand found a tissue. She wiped her face with it before throwing the tissue inside the toilet and flushing it again, removing any evidence that made it seem as if she had thrown up her stomach and intestines out of her body.

"I'm OK. I'm alright," she yelled through the still locked door, opening the faucet and rinsing her mouth with the water. She then cut the water supply and patted her face dry with a towel before turning around and unlocking the door.

The moment the sound of the lock being removed was heard, Tony pushed the door open, running inside and holding Pepper by placing one hand behind her waist and one behind her neck. His eyes scanned her face, and even if she did not voice her discomfort to him, her red eyes and nose showed him what he was searching for.

"This is not right, Pepper. People don't just throw up randomly because of ulcers!"

"It was…the soup…not gluten-free…"

"What? You mean what we had yesterday?"

"Yes, yes…It'll pass…"

Tony was not convinced, but he let the subject drop for now. "Let's get some food in your system, babe."

Pepper nodded, catching her breath. He pulled her out of the bathroom and kissed her hand before looking back to the facilities, a guilty look on his face. Pepper heard his unspoken words and slowly let go of his hand. "Go, I'll go freshen up; change my bandages..."

Tony mumbled a _thank you_ and ran inside the bathroom to relieve himself while Pepper exited his bedroom and headed to the guest room to wash the stench of blood from her mouth, and replace the wet bandages with fresh ones. By the time she arrived to the kitchen, Tony was already in action, bringing out the ingredients for gluten-free pancakes.

"Sit down, Potts. You're my guest now, so enjoy the perks."

Pepper obeyed Tony's orders, and sat on a stool by the kitchen bar as she watched him work to make breakfast for the both of them. Even though her eyes followed his movements, her mind was far away from the mansion, trapped inside her home –her bedroom, with Frederick locked up inside with her.

She was not proud of telling half-truths to Tony, but she could not imagine the amount of guilt and grief it would bring to him to find out Frederick's actual role in her life. If he had felt like utter shit at finding out her cuts and bruises were a result of helping him, then if he knew that…

Pepper shook her head; she did not want to think about it. Yes, her relationship with Frederick had all started as a job offer, a chat among old friends, but then…

Then Tony had fired her, left her in the parking lot, and when she had finally gathered the courage to show up to her last day of work and arrived to her office to pick up her mail, her life had changed, drastically.

And now, Frederick was an indispensable part of her life, almost playing a role that should have belonged to Tony and Tony only, but beggars did not get to choose.

"Coffee? Milk? Juice?" He asked her, pulling her out of her daydreaming. "What do you want to drink, sweetheart?"

_Sweetheart_, she thought. She knew Tony had a soft side, a soft spot for her, but witnessing the seemingly flawless change in his attitude and tending of her was going to take some getting used to.

"Is the milk lactose-free?"

"Coconut milk," he responded, leaving out the part where he had Jarvis compile a list of healthy food to buy for the weekend.

_But, she's staying two weeks now; we're gonna need more, _the thought, returning his attention to flipping pancakes. He hardly ever cooked for himself, let alone anyone else, but that did not mean he could not follow a recipe.

"Jarvis tells me you're staying here until my boo-boo gets better," Tony asked, his mind already planning the activities for the next two weeks for them.

"Yup, and you should probably tell SI you aren't coming back soon so that they can have a party of some sort."

"Ha-HA! Funny –_not_!" He said, but knowing she had a point. "I'll tell the Head of Security to inform Bambi tomorrow."

"Head of Security? There's no head of Security. You mean the Interim one, Engvall?"

"Nope. I promoted Happy to the position on Thursday before I came home."

"Really? Wow, Tony! That's a huge step up for him! What did Happy say? I've got to congratulate him!"

"He told me he was so glad he didn't have to carry or drive my unconscious ass anymore."

"Funny," Pepper said, watching Tony piling up the pancakes and covering them with a cloth to keep them warm. "He helped me carry your unconscious ass up the stairs from the basement two nights ago. _And_, he gave you a bath."

"Beg your pardon?" Tony asked her, almost dropping the pancake he was holding on the spatula.

"You were bloodied, sandy and dirty. We had to clean up your wounds before we tended to them. If it makes you feel better, I was there with him."

"You think that it would, but, nope, it does not," he said, partially joking but partially telling the truth. "Anyway, I don't have any major plans for today, but I do for tomorrow. For today I want you to relax and accept the masseuse that was supposed to be here Saturday, and let me do the worrying for a while."

"The worrying of what?"

"Of SI having no CEO for two weeks," he said, pointing to her and her restless hands. "Unclench woman, the company will be fine without us for two weeks."

"_Us_? You mean without _you_. I don't work there anymore, remember? My jerk of a boss fired me, after everything I'd done for him. Can you believe it?"

Tony grumbled at her. "Low blow, Potts," he said as he walked to the pantry to find the bottle of syrup, unscrewing it and smelling it to make sure it was still good.

"Oh, no, Mr. Stark. _That_ comes later," she teased him before breaking out in laughter when he squeezed the bottle too hard with the shock of her play on words, sending a squirt of syrup directly onto his face.

* * *

**A/N:** OK, I gotta say it: You are ALL AWESOME! I was going to post only the two chapters this weekend, but your reviews got me going and here is another one. Let's hope the inspiration remains until I'm done!


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9  
**

**DAY 18**

After breakfast, and after moving all of Pepper's belongings into his room without first consulting Pepper about it, Tony had prohibited his girlfriend from leaving _their_ room until further notice. The reasoning behind it was that he was preparing for their first official date, and since she was already at the mansion, the only way to make it a surprise would be for her to stay away from the staging area, A.K.A. the rest of the house.

Pepper had assured him that she did not need a fancy dinner or whatever over-the-top activity he was planning, and that a simple dinner-and-movie date would suffice. Tony, of course, had completely dismissed her minimalistic idea, stating that the girlfriend of Tony Stark deserved nothing but the best.

After a short argument, and a discussion about why buying her an island would not make a good idea for a first date present –or for the 25th date for that matter, Tony agreed to keep the options local, limited to the home premises, and to activities that would not hinder their recovery.

So now, shortly past noon, Pepper lay on their bed, munching on popcorn as she caught up with _Days of Our Lives_. Tony kept communication with her via Jarvis, and Jarvis played whatever episode Pepper wanted to watch. The last time Tony had checked up on her had been five minutes ago, which meant she had at least half an hour of uninterrupted soap watching time before Tony checked up on her again.

_ "Drake, we can never be!"_ the obviously surgically-enhanced woman on the screen told the doctor. Dr. Ramoray walked up to Hope, the girlfriend of the week, and cupped her face in his hands, staring down at her with saddened eyes.

_"Hope, why don't you understand? I love you, Hope! I can't live without you!" _The desperate doctor responded to the woman.

Pepper chewed on her thumbnail, engrossed in the scene. She really did not like Hope for Dr. Ramoray, but it was mostly due to the fact that her breasts were as large as her head. Since Pepper had a difficult time growing up with an almost flat chest until she fully developed during college, her dislike of the female character was purely out of envy for her assets.

"Leave her, Drake! She's only after your money to get more plastic surgeries! Leave her!" Pepper said to the screen as if the characters would suddenly stop their conversation and take her opinion in consideration.

_ "Drake! It's you who doesn't understand! We can never be because…"_

_ "Because what? Because I slept with your sister when I was drunk? I told you she means nothing to me, Hope. Nothing! It is you who I love!"_

The silence of the characters was killing Pepper, and she crawled closer to the projection of the show on the wall, digging her nails on the comforter as she waited for Hope's answer.

_ "We cannot be together because it's wrong Drake. It's WRONG!"_

_ "WRONG? What is wrong about loving you? Why is it wrong that you are the air that I breathe?"_

_ "It's wrong because, you…I…"_

"Just say it, bitch! Why?" Pepper screamed at the show, exhaling in exasperation.

_"Because…because…." _Another dramatic pause._ "Because we're related, Drake. We're half-siblings!"_

"WHAT?" Pepper yelled, slamming her fists on the mattress and shaking her head in disbelief before talking to the screen once more, pointing her index finger at Hope's image. "But you…you _kissed_ the guy and….EWWW! Is this _Days of Our Lives_ or _Flowers in the Attic_?"

"I can project _Flowers in the_ _Attic_ if you wish, Miss Potts," the always attentive AI said over the speaker.

"No, Jarvis. It was rhetorical, but thanks, anyway," she responded with a chuckle. "What is Tony doing?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss his plans, per his orders. I apologize."

"Boo! Can you at least tell me if he's almost done?"

"My estimation is that he should be completing his task in the next hour or so."

"Well, he better be done soon, because I'm getting out of here in an hour whether he's ready or not. Let him know."

"Will do."

Pepper's phone rung next to her, and when she looked at the screen her heart skipped a bit. She pressed the button to answer the call but did not immediately speak into it, looking at the door to make sure Tony did not just suddenly stop by the room.

"Volume up, Jarvis," Pepper told the AI to make sure the sound of the soap opera covered her conversation. "One moment," Pepper said into the phone before running inside Tony's bathroom and locking the door behind her.

"Freddie, this is not the best time to talk," Pepper whispered into the phone, staring at the bathroom door, and cupping the bottom of the phone with her hand to contain her voice as much as possible.

_"Ginny, we HAVE to talk. I haven't heard from you in days, and this is getting bad. Where are you, anyway?"_

"I'm at Tony's," Pepper responded, pulling away from the door and sitting on the edge of the bath tub.

_ "What? Are you serious? You CAN'T stay there! Get out now!"_

"Freddie, I can't," she said, staring intently at the small space between the floor and the bottom of the door, hoping to see ahead of time if Tony came inside the room searching for her. "He almost died on me, OK? I _can't_ leave until he's better."

_"What about you?" _Frederick said_. "Does he give a damn about you getting better?"_

"You know he doesn't know about me. If he did…"

_"If he did, it'd make this easier on all of us, on you."_

"No, it wouldn't. Besides, we aren't even sure if this is even…well…" she sighed, unable to make herself say the words. "I'm not going to worry him over nothing."

_"Ginny, that's the thing. It __**is**__ something; something we can't do anything about, at least not without his help."_

Pepper remained quiet, staring down at her bandaged feet. She knew it was pointless for the bandages to be there, but Happy had insisted she wear them, and Tony surely was not going to let her remove them until the time was right. She had been holding onto the hope that Frederick could help her, that she did not have to get Tony involved in the situation, but the more options she and Richardson explored, the more it pointed to Tony being the answer to their prayers.

_"Ginny?"_ Frederick said, trying to get her attention once more by using a calmer tone. _"Ginny, we're on a timetable here. You have to tell him. If I were him, I'd like to know if the woman I love was going to…not be around for long."_

Pepper closed her eyes, took a deep breath and stood up from the bath tub. As she did, she felt the taste of metal accumulating inside her mouth, so she walked to the box of tissues and grabbed one to wipe the blood off her lips.

"What's the timetable?" she asked, staring down at the blood-stained tissue.

_"A few months, if you don't do anything stupid while staying with him." _Frederick told her, unaware that the _something stupid _he was referring to had already happened three days ago.

"OK. Alright. I will tell him, but not now."

_"Dammit, Virginia! That's what you told me two weeks ago! WHEN are you going to fill him in? We need his help!"_

"Two weeks. I promise. Jarvis said he would be fully recovered in two weeks. At that point, I will tell him."

_"Who's Jarvis?"_

"Uhm…his…doctor…" Pepper said, not feeling up to explaining the concept of an artificial intelligence running Tony's home. "Get those tests results ready for me, and send them over to my personal e-mail. He's gonna want to give them a look."

_"I will, and if you don't tell him in two weeks, I will walk to his office and tell him."_

"You won't have to."

Frederick sighed on the other end of the line. _"I'm not your enemy here, Ginny. I just want you to be OK."_

"I know, I get that, and I appreciate it," she said as she dropped the tissue into the toilet. "I'm sorry I even got you involved in this. I know this is not easy for you, either."

_ "Don't worry about it. You know I'd do anything for you, Ginny."_

"I do. Thank you," she said, feeling sorry for the man. "I have to go, Freddie. Tony's waiting for me."

Frederick chuckled. _"He may have to get in line. Anyway, keep me posted. I'll have the new results back in two weeks. I'll send them as soon as I get them. Goodbye." _He finally said before ending the call. Pepper stared at her phone's screen, showing the final length of the call. She flushed the toilet and reached over to the vanity, rinsing off the remaining blood from her mouth.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror, noting she was still losing weight despite her best efforts to eat more. It was getting more and more difficult to stay focused for long, and her exposed skin via the cuts had done horrors for her other symptoms. She was surprised Tony had not questioned her deteriorating looks, and that he had just assumed they were associated with the stressing days they both had experienced since she took the job as CEO.

"Pepper?" Tony said as he walked inside the room, immediately heading to the bathroom door and knocking on it. "Are you in there?"

Pepper gave herself one last glance before putting on her relaxed face. Years of working under stress with him had been a blessing in disguise for moments like these.

She opened the door to the bathroom to see him standing in front of her, dressed up in a black, pinstripe tuxedo, a white shirt, matching pinstripe vest, and a white tie. The look was complemented by that look of self-pride on his face; the same look he had whenever he finished a major project he had been working on for a long time.

"What's the occasion Mr. Stark?"

"Our anniversary, Ms. Potts. What else would it be?"

Pepper stared at him with suspicious eyes, wondering what his overactive mind was concocting, and walked out of the bathroom to join him in the bedroom.

"Anniversary? What of, exactly?" she inquired, her hands flying to the handkerchief on his chest pocket, more out of instinct than need, to skillfully fluff up the piece of fabric. Tony stood still as his former PA completed the task, the gesture bringing memories of their adventures together.

"Ah, yes!" Pepper began as she finished her chore. "It's been two weeks since you fired me. Is that what we're celebrating?"

Tony's shoulders deflated and he felt as disappointed as he had been the last time he had tried to talk about something serious with Pepper while she made sure his damned handkerchief was pristine.

"_Peppeerrr!_" he whined. "I told you I was sorry, so, so, soooo, sorry! Can we drop that now, please? It's our two-day anniversary; let's not talk about things that will get you mad…at me…please?"

"Then what in the world are we gonna talk about, ever? And, what do you mean 'two-day'?"

Tony walked to her, cupping her shoulders with his hands and pulling her closer to him. "Isn't it obvious? Two days since you said yes to me."

"Yes? To what…oh…_that_," she said, remembering she had referred him as her boyfriend for the first time two days ago. "Really, Tony? What happened to week anniversaries? Or, month anniversaries?"

"Pepper, think about it for a second," he began, taking his hands off her shoulders and using his fingers to list his reasons for the celebration.

"I put on a flying suit of armor and blow up terrorists, my house talks, and I have a stash of a new element I created in a particle accelerator I made in my basement. Do you really think this is going to be a normal relationship?"

"Right," she answered, flashing him a bright smile. "Anyway, I feel underdressed compared to you," she said, staring at his formal outfit and then at her torn shorts and t-shirt. "Why didn't you tell me you were preparing something so upscale? I would've brought over a night dress."

Tony smiled at her, pointing to the closet. "My dear, I'm a step ahead of you."

Pepper walked toward where Tony was pointing, and her mouth fell at seeing the gown hanging inside the small room. "Tony, when did you? Oh, wow…"

The short, white, strapless dress was simple but elegant. The base of the breasts was surrounded by a black strip of fabric from which several ruffled layers cascaded down the left side of the skirt. On the clothes hanger a matching set of earrings, necklace and a bracelet hung. And, on the floor, Pepper found a pair of matching black heels.

"Tony, this is beautiful," she said, admiring the softness of the fabric in her hands. Tony sheepishly walked toward her, surrounding her waist from behind and resting his chin on her left shoulder.

"Glad you like it, Pep," he whispered to her, and then kissed her neck. "I'll leave you so you can get ready. I'll be waiting outside."

"OK. It'll only be a minute," she said as he walked out and closed the door behind him, leaving her to dress up. Five minutes later, Pepper walked out of the bedroom to a surprisingly dark house in the middle of another sunny California day.

"Tony? I can't see."

At her words, Jarvis turned on the sparkling party beams, displaying patterns on the walls and providing enough light to see where one was going, but not too much to ruin the romantic ambience.

Pepper took cautious steps, holding the shoes in her hand as she had not been able to make them fit with the bandages still present. She did not want Tony to feel bad about it, so she brought the shoes with her to show to him that she had liked them.

As she descended the short steps to the living room, she noticed that the furniture had been rearranged. The couch had been pushed to the side, as had the coffee table, leaving a space in the middle where a blanket laid. On top of the blanket was a wicker basket holding napkins, plates, wine glasses, wine bottles, and other items needed for the Italian lunch/dinner Tony had ordered for them. Even though it was just after noon on a Tuesday, the environment inside the Malibu mansion made it seem as if it was a Friday night.

From the darkest part of the room, Tony's form emerged, hands in his pockets and smiling at her. Pepper returned the smile, dropping the shoes on the floor, next to the blanket, and meeting Tony halfway, directly underneath the biggest light on the ceiling.

"What do you think, Miss Potts?" he asked her, holding her by her waist and slowly swinging her hips to a silent tune.

"I think you outdid yourself, Mr. Stark," she responded, resting her forearms on his chest and following the movements of his body.

They stared at each other's eyes silently for a minute, Tony thinking about the first time they had ever danced, way back then during the Firefighter's Family Fund event and Pepper thinking about Fredericks words to her. His words reminded her she could not give up to find a cure for her disease, even unknown as it was until now, if only to have to time to pay back Tony for his efforts in trying to making her as happy as she felt right now.

"What are you thinking about, love?"

"I'm thinking how unlike you this is."

"Unlike me?" he was taken aback. "Pepper, just because I'd never done this for any other woman before, it doesn't mean I don't know how to be romantic or considerate."

"I'm not saying you aren't any of those things, Tony. It's just weird to see you go through such lengths for a simple date."

Tony shrugged, smirking to himself. "I just didn't have anyone special to do this for, until now."

Pepper laughed nervously, looking down at the floor, unable to hold his deep glance. He leaned his face down a little so that he could see her reaction, loving her shy response to his seducing words.

"You know, Tony," she said, finally lifting her face to stare at him. "The first time you ever flirted with me, which was about a minute after I became your PA, I promised myself never to fall for your cheesy lines. Clearly, that didn't last long."

Tony threw his head back in laughter. "Didn't last long? Potts, I had to court you for 12 years before you even threw me a bone! From all the descriptive words I can use for you, _easily swooned_ is definitely _not _one of them."

She smiled even wider before kissing him lightly on the lips. She heard him exhale in contentment, pulling her even closer to him. She broke the kiss to stare at him again, wanting to lose herself in the eyes she had grown to love.

"So, are we actually getting some music 'round here or do I have to hum?"

"I'm glad you asked, Pepper," Tony said, loving the way their date was turning out so far. "I actually had Jarvis compile for me a list of songs that reflect my feelings for you."

"You did? Well, let's hear it," Pepper said, pulling her face closer to Tony's and resting her cheek on his.

"Jarvis?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Music, please."

"As you wish," the AI responded. Tony closed his eyes and rubbed the sides of their faces together before the lyrics of the first song began playing.

_I don't want anybody else  
When I think about you  
I touch myself (I touch myself)  
I don't want anybody else  
Oh no, oh no, oh no  
_

Tony's eyes widened and Pepper's mouth hung as they pulled their faces away from the other. The song continued playing for another five seconds before Tony found his voice and ordered Jarvis to stop the music.

"What in the wretched name of a…I'm sorry, Pep. That's not…well, whatever, forget that even happened, OK? Jarvis, next song!"

Pepper nodded to him, and they returned to their initial positions as they waited for the next tune to play.

_Give it to me baby, uh huh, uh huh  
Give it to me baby, uh huh, uh huh  
Give it to me baby, uh huh, uh huh  
And all the girlies say I'm pretty fly for a white guy_

"STOP!" Tony said, releasing Pepper from his grip to cover his face in embarrassment. "_What_ the _hell_? Pepper, I'm not…this is not…"

Pepper remained silent, biting her tongue to prevent her from laughing out loud at his misery. He wiped sweat off his brow with the back of his hand before pulling her closer once more.

"Third time's the charm?" Pepper asked, trying her best not to show how much she was enjoying his little panic attack.

"I hope," he said. "NEXT!"

There was a moment of silence in the room as the next melody began playing, again starting in mid-song.

_Do it now  
You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals  
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel  
Do it again now  
You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals  
So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel  
Gettin' horny now_

"FUCK!" Tony screamed, letting go of Pepper and stomping his right foot on the floor. "What the hell is wrong with you, Jarvis? I said songs that would tell Pepper how I feel!"

"And I did as you instructed, sir," the AI defended itself. "Based on an analysis of your personal diary, daily routines and the secret stockpile of pictures that you have of Miss Potts, in addition to the mumbling you've done in your sleep, these songs are representative of your feelings for Miss Potts."

Tony froze where he stood, blinking multiple times and doing an incredible impression of the deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression. He swallowed hard as his eyes moved to stare at Pepper, who had her hands on her hips, her head titled to the right, and a raised eyebrow, staring back at him.

"Errr…I…uhm…" Tony said, pulling on his collar and undoing his tie, suddenly feeling as if the huge mansion was not big enough to contain his discomfort. "Pepper, I don't…I mean…it's not _every_ day I…"

Pepper did not respond, but tilted her head to the other side.

"And…uhm, the pictures…you're dressed on all of them…well…mostly…"

At this, Pepper straightened her head and her eyebrows shot to the ceiling, but still she did not utter a word.

"And…I _don't _have a _diary_…it's more of a _journal_…a MANLY journal…next to my big stash of porn…on which I haven't drawn your face on the models…"

Pepper's arms moved from her hips to the front of her chest, crossing them as she tapped the floor with her right foot.

"And the mumbling…I have no recollection of that, obviously…I mean…I am asleep, right? I can't help what I dream or say in my dream, right? I don't even know what I've said…"

"I believe the actual quote from the last time you mumbled was 'Spank me harder, Potts'." The AI advised.

"You! You, SHUT UP! RIGHT NOW, JARVIS!"

The AI immediately went quiet, but Tony knew the damage was done. He took cautionary steps toward Pepper, biting nails as he did so.

"Pepper, I…please…PLEASE don't think that's all I want you for. That's not the case, at all. I don't want to sleep with you…"

"You don't?" Pepper asked him, her face stoic as ever.

"No, I mean I do! I do! I _do_! I so want to take you to bed and…err…" He stopped when she saw her face of apparent disapproval.

"But, but…you know, that's not the _only_ reason why I want you with me…I also care about you…a lot, I think you know that, right? I don't want you for one night only. I want you for the rest of our lives."

Pepper remained silent, and Tony exhaled in defeat, covering his face with his hands once more. "I'm sorry, Pepper. Our first date and I've ruined it."

"Ruined it?" Pepper asked, raising her hands to his and pulling them off his face. "Who says you've ruined it. I'm having a great time watching you squirm. How big is the hole you've been digging, now?"

Tony's face showed his confusion, and it was not until Pepper began laughing loud and hard that he realized she was not at all upset with him. "Were you just pretending to be mad, this whole time? 'Cause that's just mean."

Pepper shook her head, accentuating her denial with her index finger. "No, no! That was all you. I just stayed quiet," she said, resting her weight on her knees as another bout of laughter came to her.

"What? You could've said something, woman! I thought you were going to walk out that door!"

"Oh, Tony," she said, trying to control her laughter. "I've known about your diary –"

"-JOURNAL!" he corrected her.

"_Journal_, all this time. And the pictures, well…I figured if you were staring at them, you wouldn't be gawking over my ass during meetings. I mean, I was wrong, but still."

"Damn, this is embarrassing."

"Why? Are you ashamed about us?"

"What? God, no! I want everyone to know!"

"You want everyone to know you draw my face on Playboy playmates?"

"Yes! I mean, NO! Stop doing that, Potts! This is supposed to be 'romantic first date night,' not 'embarrass the fuck out of Tony night'."

Seeing he was becoming truly flustered, Pepper raised her hands in the air to show she was done with the making fun of him, and reassured him with a long kiss.

"I love you, Tony," she said to him, running her hands down his cheeks. "And not just for one night, either."

Tony's anger melted at her words, pulling her closer to him as he whispered to his AI the name of a more suitable slow song. The new couple danced for a little while, losing themselves to the appropriateness of the lyrics of Etta James's _At Last_.

**DAY 19**

Tony received the urgent call at eight o'clock in the morning, and had it not been related to his most important project, he would have not arranged for a teleconference meeting to take place from his living room. Apparently, Dr. Wells and his crew had run into a small speed bump in their experiment, and Tony's expertise had been required.

Pepper took the opportunity to go back to her home to get the clothes she would need to stay with Tony for two weeks. She had brought an extra pair of clothes for her weekend getaway, but now that her vacation had been extended, she had no option but to return to her apartment and pack anything else she might need. She figured leaving while Tony was busy playing scientist with his R&D group was the best time to disappear from his watchful eye, and maybe discuss with Frederick the status of his investigation.

The drive to her apartment was slow and tedious, as her vision was growing blurry. She knew it was one of the many side effects of the advancing illness she carried with her, and had expected it at some point, but the ailment seemed to be accelerating in the last few days. A one-way drive that should have taken her no more than 30 minutes, took her almost an hour to complete.

She took a moment to compose herself before exiting her car when she saw Frederick was standing outside her apartment building. Pepper took a deep breath as she walked up to him, trying to hide from the knowing man how much her symptoms were showing. She knew that if he knew how bad it was getting for her, he would lock her up in her room and call Tony to tell him the entire truth.

"Morning, Freddie!" She said, sounding more energetic than she felt.

"Hey, Ginny! I'm surprised you called me so soon. I wasn't expecting to hear from you before the end of the month."

"Yeah, I know, but I had a moment to spare and I wanted to talk to you in person."

"OK, lead the way," he said to her, following her inside the complex and down the hall to the elevator that would take them both to her floor. They remained silent, highly aware that the halls were not the best place to talk about the problem, and did not say a word until Pepper locked her front door behind them.

"So, I take it your dating him now?" Frederick asked, following her to her room as she searched for a bag and began filling it with clothes.

"Yup."

"Yup? That's it? Sounds like a fling to me."

"Freddie, you know I don't usually talk about my love life with former lovers."

"I know, I know. But, you know, I'm just curious about this guy. Can you blame me? Everything they say about him on T.V…."

"Is highly… well, _slightly_ exaggerated," Pepper interjected, knowing what his intentions where. "Anyway, what else did you find?"

"Well, your case is very special, to say the least. I don't think normal procedures are going to work for you. The results of the biopsy we did at your place a few days ago are slowly coming back. I had to use a fake name to keep the issue a secret, so it's difficult to push them through faster than what I already have without throwing your name out there."

"I understand," Pepper said, remembering the pain performing a biopsy at home had been. It had not helped her situation that the procedure had occurred right after Tony's phone call where he defined the word girlfriend to her. She was still wearing the scars of the medical probing, which, in turn, was one of the reasons why she had not slept with Tony just yet; if he saw the puncture wounds of the gun used to extract the samples from her organs, he would flip.

"Have you been taking the vitamins I recommended? How about the lithium dioxide injections?"

Pepper flinched, getting ready to be reprimanded as much as she reprimanded Tony for not eating for days. "I have, whenever I can. It's kind of difficult with Tony around me 24/7."

"Ugh, Virginia! Why do you even have to stay there for two weeks? Can't the man afford an in-home nurse or something? I thought he was filthy rich."

"He is, but…it's complicated. OK?"

"What's complicated about recovery? You go to a doctor and you cure yourself. End of deal."

"_No_, Freddie. It's _not_ like that, at all."

"Why? Because he's a superhero?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," she responded, searching through her closet to pick a few different sets of shoes. "That's exactly why. I mean, if it was that easy, then you would've figured out the mechanics of the arc reactor, but you haven't, right?" she spat back with more venom that she intended to. She was grateful for Freddie's help, and his background in medicine and engineering had been of help to her, but she was growing tired of his attempts at pointing out the flaws of dating a titanium-gold alloy suited up genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist.

"All I'm saying is that, if he is not helping you get better then he doesn't love you as much as he claims to do."

"He doesn't know! How many times are we going to have the same argument?"

"As many as it takes for you to understand."

Pepper sighed, threw her shoes inside the bag and zipped it closed. She looked around the room to make sure she was not forgetting anything else. Once she felt satisfied that she had everything she needed, she walked to the door, knowing Frederick would follow her outside.

"You'll see, Freddie, in two weeks. As soon as I tell Tony what's wrong, he will help me, and show you, that he would do as much or more than you have for me. I know it's hard to believe, but he does care. He cares too much, in fact."

Frederick shrugged, knowing Pepper was correct, but not wanting to accept the fact that after Pepper was cured, he would have no chance to win back her heart. "Here," he said as he took out a box containing another round of vitamins and lithium dioxide injections.

Pepper took the box from him and placed it under her arm. "Thanks. I have to go back before he freaks out. I've been gone for almost two hours."

"Possessive, ain't he?"

"You have no idea," she said with a chuckle. They both walked to the exit of the home, Pepper placing her bags and the box on the floor as she turned around to lock her door. "If you need anything else, send me a text," she said, twisting the doorknob to make sure the lock had worked before bending down and picking up her bags and the box. "But be careful if you do. Tony read the texts you sent me last week, and I had to come up with a diversion to calm him down. I hate lying to him, so don't make me do it again."

"I'll try my best if you do what I told you to do," he said to her before cupping her face with his hands when she turned around, and kissing her deeply.

At the end of the hall, Tony Stark stopped in his tracks, watching the heated kiss between his former PA and the man he had just now bumped to the top spot of his _Must Kill Tonight_ list. Tony turned around and left the busy pair and headed downstairs to leave the complex as quickly as he could.

* * *

**A/N:** Some of you had guessed –correctly, what was happening to Pepper. Now, can you guess what happens next? :D *throws virtual cookies to thank for support*


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: **So, I got almost no reviews two chapters ago when there was no drama, and Tony and Pepper were doing just fine and were happy. Now I get a flood of reviews from people freaking out that Pepper and Fredrick have something on the side.

You know what I've noticed? Nobody reviews when things go "according to plan," even if the plan is something wonderful. If the next chapter has Tony and Pepper have a sweet honeymoon in Rome, or Pepper showing Tony a positive pregnancy test, nobody reviews. Because it's aaaallllllll part of the plan.

But if I have _one_ little ol' kiss scene between Pepper and an ex-boyfriend while Tony secretly watches… well then everyone loses their minds!

Do you know who I'm channeling right now? ;) HINT: It's a clown!

Did I not warn everybody at the beginning of the prologue that my stories nearly always have angst? Sit tight, my lovelies! I told you it was gonna be a ride!

* * *

******Chapter 10**

**DAY 20**

The repairs to the basement were taking place behind where Tony sat as he stared at his newly replaced computer screens. Since the morning, workers had stopped by to clean up the mess and rebuild what he had destroyed with his erratic landing after his mission in Jazan. Pepper had offered to help, but he had immediately turned her down, citing she had already done enough and she needed to rest.

Pepper reluctantly agreed to his orders, and settled for taking a long bubble bath while Tony monitored the repairs of his home lab. After returning from Pepper's apartment yesterday –a fact she was unaware had occurred, his mind had been busy with disheartening thoughts of what he had seen.

The moment he realized she had left the mansion, he had ended the teleconference and had run to his car. Jarvis had notified him that Pepper had gone home, and he followed. When he had arrived at the complex, her car parked on the street told her she was still there, so he had hopped out of his own vehicle and bribed the maintenance person at the entrance to let him in.

He was expecting her to become upset at him for stalking her, or for abruptly ending the already unproductive meeting to search for her when she had only gone out to get more clothes. Hell, he had even expected to not find her at all, and that they had crossed paths somewhere on his way to the building. However, what he was not been expecting was the elevator doors opening for him to hear his girlfriend stating she had lied to him before kissing another man out in the hall.

He did not stay long enough to hear his name, but he did not have to. He knew that was Frederick Richardson, and he knew his suspicious mind had been correct. Frederick was clearly interested in Pepper in the same way Tony was interested in her. What Tony did not know, and was afraid to find out, was whether Pepper reciprocated the feelings for the man. She had told him she loved _him_, Tony Stark, just a couple of days ago, but her actions clouded the validity of her words.

_ She wouldn't do this to me…to anyone…she's not…_

But she had.

Then again, she had also walked barefoot on broken glass and sharp metal to save his ass. The problem with the last fact was that, two days ago, Tony would have attributed her act to unconditional love. Today, after seeing her with Frederick, he now attributed it to Pepper's human side; the same human side that had prevented her from leaving him when she had the chance: the side that had kept her as his PA for more than a decade despite his wild ways.

If that altruistic side of her had vetoed her from job hunting after the first time she had to escort a woman out of his house, wasn't it possible that it was also responsible for her going along with taking their relationship to the next level, even if she was not that interested in him?

Tony rubbed his face with his hands, frustrated with the possibility that Pepper had not meant to be in this for long. He wondered if this was not just Pepper, but Lady Karma, coming back to make sure he paid for all the women he had mislead himself. He knew life came in cycles, and he was well overdue for some love pain.

He eyed the workers behind him, making sure they were not looking over his shoulder. He waved his hand over the monitor and the screensaver disappeared. His dexterous fingers flew on the keyboard as he researched Pepper's high school and anything related to it. After only a handful of minutes, he was staring at pictures from her old times, and he was not happy to find most of the posted pictures featured Frederick and her.

_Ex-boyfriend, my ass_, Tony thought.

Pepper and Frederick had been voted Homecoming Queen and King of their school, and had even been voted as "Most Likely to Marry after High School."

That last part made his blood boil.

He knew it was not healthy to simmer in his own anger, but he was not going to jump the gun again. Besides, health was not his priority, unless it related to Pepper's wellbeing. He would keep quiet for now, study her moves and motivation, and wait for the perfect moment to beat the teeth off Frederick Richardson.

He closed all the windows in front of him when he saw her descend the stairs. He stared at the clock in front of him and realized it had been two hours since she had stated she was taking a bath. He stood up from his chair and ran to her, not wanting her around the basement while it was being fixed.

"Hey, babe! How was your bath?" he asked, showing nothing of his actual feelings. He had lied to her before; he could do it again.

"It was good, but it also reminded me that it's time to change your bandages. Are you busy right now?"

Tony stared at the workers, minding their own business, so he shook his head. "Nope. Let's go upstairs," he answered to her, grabbing her hand and leading the way. Pepper followed behind him, silently, furrowing her brows at him and his almost immediate agreement to get patched up.

He led them into their room, and closed the door behind them. Pepper let go of his hand and walked inside the bathroom to collect the first aid kit and bandages she needed, returning to the room to see Tony taking off his clothes.

He stopped when he was down to his boxers, and sat on the edge of the bed, his feet dangling from the side and his back resting on the mattress. Pepper placed the materials on the bed, next to him, and began slowly peeling off the old gauze.

"How long do you think they'll be around?" Pepper asked, her face showing her deep concentration with the task.

"Until tonight, I think. I told them they can't leave until it's done, and that I didn't want them here more than a day."

"Ah, quite the challenge, Mr. Stark."

"I've had worse."

"I know you have," she said, grabbing the cotton swabs and peroxide to clean up a cut that was clearly infected. She continued patching him up in silence, Tony reading into her actions and moving around to give her easy access to whatever part of his body she needed to tend to. Was she helping him out of the kindness of her heart? Or, was it guilt for leading him on that was driving her actions? The more he thought about it, the more his performance was falling apart.

"Happy called," she said.

"Mhh? What for?"

"He wants to know if we are making a statement about us to the media."

_Us_, he thought. Yesterday morning he would have jumped at the opportunity of telling the word to back off his girlfriend. Today, he was not so sure.

"Why would we?" he asked. "None of their goddamned business, that's for sure."

Pepper did a double take, staring down at his back as he held still for her to clean him up. From all the answers she would have expected from him, this had not been one. Tony hated press conferences, but he also loved the attention of the media and its followers.

"Well, the grapevine is coming up with some outrageous stories. Thought you might want to know," she said with finality, not wanting to continue speaking about the subject if it was going to cause an issue between them. She had noticed Tony had been lost in his thoughts since she returned from her home yesterday, and while she attributed it to the events of the meeting he had with R&D, she knew better than to ask about it until he seemed ready to speak about it.

She continued her task, and after a few more tosses and turns, Tony's wounds had been completely cleaned and re-patched. As she began putting away the materials she had used, Tony began dressing up again, staring at her with questioning eyes.

"Potts?"

"Yeah?" she said, walking to the restroom and disappearing for a few seconds while she stored away the first aid kit. He followed her to the bathroom and stood at the door, blocking her way out and resting his left arm on the door frame, above his head. She stared back at him, waiting for him to speak.

"Have I ever told you about Yinsen?"

"Who?" she asked him, searching her mind for any memory that came to her where Tony had used the name before. "No, I don't think so. Who's Yinsen?"

He stepped out of the way and returned to the bed, sitting at the foot of it and patting the spot to his left, inviting the ginger to join him. Pepper accepted his invitation and waited for him to tell his story to her.

"He, Yinsen, he was my _cavemate_, you can say. He kept me company when I was in Afghanistan."

Pepper faced him, surprised to hear him talk about his captivity. She knew a few details about the ordeal, mostly the ones that dealt with why Tony had returned from the Middle East with an electromagnet embedded in his chest, or regarding the design of the Mark I. He had never shared with her what it was like to be held against your will, or the conditions he had to live in for three months, or that he had company during this time.

Pepper did not say anything back to him, afraid that she would scare off his sudden determination to talk about those hard times for him, so she resorted to placing her right hand on his knee, encouraging him to continue his story with a light squeeze.

"He was the one who took most of the shrapnel out of my heart and gave me this," he said as he tapped the reactor. "He was there to translate, keep an eye of me. He was as stuck as I was, though. He said we had met before, at a conference, but of course I didn't remember him.

"He helped me build the Mark I, and the arc. The plan was for me to kill everyone on my way out, and for him to follow me once the coast was clear."

Tony's eyes glistened, and he took a deep breath, trying to find the courage to continue his explanation. Pepper noticed his hesitancy, so she flipped over her hand on his knee, to which he responded by linking his hand in hers.

"We got discovered before we could finish, so he went ahead to make some time while the suit booted. The next time I saw him he was lying on bags of seeds, with a bunch of holes in his chest."

"Tony," Pepper said, placing a comforting hand on his upper arm.

"I got to talk to him for the last time before he…" he trailed, letting the implication speak for itself. "I thanked him for saving my life and he told me not to waste it. He told me not to waste my life."

Pepper rested her head on his shoulder, still holding onto his arm and hand. Suddenly his actions after he had been found by Rhodey in the middle of the desert made sense to her. He had seen, first hand, the power of his weapons. He had been given a second chance at life, and he had made a silent promise to a stranger who had shared his imprisoned state that he would make it worthwhile.

Obadiah, in his sick kind of way, had been correct. A part of Tony had been left behind in that cave, and he had brought back with him instead a part of Yinsen's soul. She lifted her right hand from his arm and placed it on his cheek, delicately pulling him to face her.

"And you've kept your promise, Tony. You've turned your life around. Yinsen would be proud of you. I know I am." She said to him, seeing in his eyes the fear that he had not honored his promise to the dying man. Tony closed his eyes and rested his chin on top of her head.

The irrational and jealous side of him wanted to call her bluff, call her a liar and tell her he knew about her affair with Frederick. Any normal person in a relationship would have reacted that way, he knew, especially after believing something special had been growing between them.

However, his deeply in love side told him otherwise. It told him there was a logical explanation for what he had seen, and that he was overacting once again. Pepper had her reasons for lying to him, as he had had his when he had lied to her about greater things.

"Pepper, can you make me a promise?" he whispered to her, his mind made up about what he was about to do.

"What promise?"

He reached to his right pants' pocket, and took out the velvet pouch he had been carrying with him for a week. With the one hand, he flipped over the pouch, its contents falling onto the bed. He pulled up their intertwined hands above his knee, and opened up her palm, his hand supporting it underneath.

He used his right hand to grab the ring. He placed it in her open palm before closing it and keeping his hand surrounding her fist. Pepper's eyes widened when she felt the shape of the object, putting together in her mind what he was about to do.

"Promise me, Pepper," he began. "Promise me you'll think about it. I know it's sudden, and maybe too soon, but I don't have time to waste anymore. I don't _want _to waste my life, or yours."

As sudden and subtle as his proposal had been, so was his disappearance from the room, leaving Pepper to stare down at the beautiful engagement ring she knew had once belonged to his mom.

**DAY 21**

"How is the analysis going, Jarvis?"

"Slow, but progressing. I should have the final results for you in approximately 10 more days."

"Fine, but no more than that. I don't want to be on the verge of dying again," Tony told his AI as he browsed the web, staring at AC/DC's tour schedule. He had gotten over seeing Pepper and Frederick kiss, and had decided to act as if it had never happened, concentrating on giving reasons to Pepper to accept his engagement proposal.

So far, she was yet to make a comment or wear the ring, but she had at least not flat out declined his proposal. He wanted to accept this as a good sign, and respect the time she needed to make a decision. He had hoped that opening up to her about such a delicate topic for him would prove to her that he was serious about them –just in case it had not been clear before, and that he was ready to mature.

_Just a little_, he thought with a mischievous smirk.

He was yet to use the tour tickets Pepper had given him for his birthday, and he had just missed the local AC/DC concert by a day. However, with his resources and time, he knew that a quick flight to Oakland to catch up with them on the last days of the month was not impossible.

"Jarvis, have my private jet take me and Pepper to Oakland on the morning of the 29th. Arrange for pick up transport, too."

"Will do, sir. What is your destination once there?"

"Oracle Arena."

"Would like you like me to schedule some dinner reservations as well?"

"No. I'm gonna take Pepper out and about and see where we end up, but make sure to remind me to take some cash with me."

"Cash? Are you planning on buying another shopping cart while in Oakland, sir?"

Tony made an obscene gesture with his middle finger and aimed it toward the ceiling. "What do you have against me, Jarvis? First you play those awful songs for Pepper and now you make fun of my lack of grocery shopping skills?"

"Your latest update included an irony-and-mock simulation code. I believe it is rather handy."

"Whatever. Where's Pepper?"

"Miss Potts is just now coming out of the shower. Shall I patch you through?"

"Sure," Tony said, waiting for the speakers to relay her voice.

_"Tony?"_

"Yes, my lovely. What are you doing on the 29th of this month?"

_"Uh…"_ Pepper said, knowing damn well that the 29th was the day before she would get her lab results back from Frederick, and the day before she would tell Tony she was probably dying as much as he had been at some point. _"Not sure, why?"_ she asked.

"I wanna use my tickets, and I want you there with me, front row, saluting the rockers."

_"AC/DC?"_

"Yup. What do you say?"

_"Sure, why not,"_ she said, welcoming the distraction and hoping the event would make it easier on her to drop the bombshell on Tony about her illness.

"Perfect. We leave at…" he hesitated, looking at the itinerary Jarvis was displaying on the screen. "…nine in the morning."

_"Nine? The concert is at night, and the jet will take less than an hour to get there. Why so early?"_

"I'd like to walk around the tourist sites with you, if you don't mind."

_"But, Tony, the media –"_

"–can kiss my ass."

Pepper chuckled. _"Are you sure? We haven't made a statement, and the news said…"_

"I don't care what they say, Pep. As long as you know what they speculate is bullshit, they can say whatever they want. They'll figure it out soon enough."

_"I guess…alright. That's fine. Are you wearing your t-shirt?"_

"Yup, and you will too."

_"I don't have…"_

"Now you do," Tony said, clicking on the _Buy Now_ button the screen. "Expect it in 24-48 hours."

_"OK, well, Happy and Rhodey will be here any minute. Are you going to join us?"_

"Oh, yeah!" he said, remembering they had not seen their friends since Tony's last mission, and wanted to thank them for their help and let them know Pepper and he were now officially dating. "I'll be right up."

_"OK. I'm gonna get ready. Be down there in a little while."_

"OK. Love you, Potts."

_"Love you, Tony,"_ she said before the PA system turned off, leaving a wide smile on both of their faces.

**DAY 22**

Tony sat on the floor of his living room, holding Pepper's left foot in his hands as she sat on the couch. The cuts looked much better to her, and Pepper had suggested she give up the bandages in exchange for normal shoes and socks. Tony, however, had stated that his inspection and approval was required before she let go of the only protection her feet had from the floor.

"You're going to have to wear comfy shoes to Oakland, Potts."

"Yeah, I know. I brought some tennis shoes I plan to wear."

He nodded to her before carefully placing her foot back on the floor and picking up the right one.

"I think you're good, Pepper. Just, please, next time wear some damned army boots or something."

"Sure, as soon as you give me a calendar in advance of when you expect to come back home all battered and almost dead, I will."

"Touché," he conceded. "But, you know what I mean. I don't bust my ass killing the bad people just so that you die on me anyway."

Pepper's lips thinned. _Only 8 more days_, she told herself. _Eight more days…_

Feeling confident that Pepper's feet were ready for normal walking, he stood up from the floor and collapsed on the couch, taking Pepper down with him so that she lay on top of him. He pulled her down to kiss her, making the thoughts in his mind perfectly clear to her.

Pepper read his intentions, wanting to give in to them, but the reminder that Tony would see her recovering scars made her hormones halt. "Tony, not now."

Tony growled in frustration, pulling her down to rest her head on his chest and hugged her tight. "You're killing me, Potts, you know that?"

"I'm sorry."

"I don't know what you're waiting for, Pepper. Your hands and feet are great. _I_ feel great…I _want_ to make _you_ feel great…" he whispered to her, rubbing his nose on the side of her face, effectively sending shivers down her spine.

"Soon, Tony. OK?"

"That's what you said last time," he pouted.

"Well, that just means you're closer now."

"FINE! But you better be ready for several back-to-back rounds, Ms. Potts. You _owe_ me!"

"I owe you? I don't think I owe you anything, Mr. Stark," she joked, pulling herself off him and walking away from the couch.

"Whoa! Whoa! Where are you going?"

"Bathroom."

"Shower?"

"No."

"Oh, well. I'll wait right here," he said, picking up the remote and turning on the television. Pepper glanced at him from the corner of her eye to make sure he was staying put before rushing to the guest room's bathroom.

She locked the door and headed to the cabinet, taking out the small box Frederick had given her. She grabbed the glass she had hid inside the box and took out a handful of vitamins. She chugged down the pills before taking out an injection of lithium dioxide and pinched her upper leg with it. She bit her lip to keep her from yelping, and after cleaning up she headed back to the living room.

"Welcome back, my love," he told her, stretching out his arm over the couch, inviting her to cuddle with him. She sat next to him, and dug her head under his arm, wishing she could wake up to the day Frederick would have the final results ready, so she could face the music with Tony. She knew she had to follow the recommendations of her doctor friend, but she hated how tired she felt afterwards.

Tony pulled her closer, kissing the crown of her head and stroking her arm with his hand as his eyes were glued to the television, watching a couple kissing in a hall, very much so as Pepper and Frederick had. The scene struck a chord in him, even though he was not entirely upset about it anymore. He had kissed a million girls before kissing Pepper, so he was not one to complain about one kiss from her to someone else.

_However, I didn't screw anyone while dating her_, his jealous side thought, pushing words out of his mouth before he had a chance to filter them –or eat them.

"So you and Frederick kissed outside your apartment," he said aloud before immediately wanting to take the words back but knowing it was too late. Pepper's head snapped back, looking wide-eyed and flustered.

"How…?"

"I saw you," he said, his tone of voice not giving away his actual feelings on the matter. He was over it, yes, but that did not mean he did not want to talk about it, especially after proposing to her. And, being Tony Stark, once he started talking, it was difficult to stop. "I went looking for you and walked in when you two were smooching."

"Tony…I…why didn't you say something?"

"Wanted to see if you would tell me," he answered, a response that in Pepper's mind was complemented with 'like I told you about Yinsen.'

"Wait, is that why you proposed? To set your claim on me?"

"What? How are the two things even related?" he asked, muting the television. "I have wanted to propose before I saw you kissing him."

"_He_ kissed _me_, Tony."

"Well, _apparently_, you didn't stop him."

"And, _apparently_, you didn't watch long enough," she spat.

"Why? Did you guys make out after I left?"

"_No_, I punched him in the face."

"You…what?"

Pepper pushed him away, stood up from the couch and walked away from the living room, remembering his shocked face after she had pulled back her blow. "I said, I punched him in the face. I'm sure he won't do it again, so please don't kill him."

Pepper hoped her explanation would suffice for Tony and save Frederick's ass. She felt she had gone over too far by hitting the guy that had been trying to help her, but she was very upset that he had tried to take advantage of the fact that her hands had been busy holding her belongings, and that he had dared to kiss her knowing she and Tony were an item.

"I wasn't planning to," he said, before amending his statement "…anymore…but…damn, Potts. Did you really hit him?"

"Yup."

Tony stood up from the couch, walking closer to her standing form by the window, but did not attempt to reach her. He stared at her back for a minute, waiting to see if she would elaborate on the aftermath of the kiss, but when she did not, he started speaking again.

"I was mad, Pepper; I'm not gonna lie. I was _so_ mad. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to fight, but the scene on the T.V. just now reminded me…you know my mind has no filter."

"I know, Tony," she responded to him, turning around and walking to stand in front of him, holding his hands in hers. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want to bother you with it because it was pointless. It didn't mean anything to me, and I took care of it."

Tony nodded to her, understanding what she meant. If a girl kissed him now, he knew he would put a stop to it as well, and perhaps not even mention it to Pepper either because, as she had said, it would not mean anything to him. He was past that stage. There was only room for two in his boat of life, and Pepper was already there with him.

"I'm so happy you didn't punch me when I kissed you. That would've sucked."

"Well, I love you, and not him. And, I think I may love you even more now that I see how well you're taking this."

He gave her a lopsided smirk, feeling proud of himself. "I guess I'm learning there's nothing to be worried about, as you shouldn't worry about me. There's only you, Potts."

She pushed herself closer to him and kissed him lightly on the corner of his mouth before whispering to him. "Why don't you help me erase his kiss?"

"Yes, ma'am."

**DAY 23**

Pepper took advantage of Tony meeting with his R&D group again, on a Sunday, nonetheless, to take out the engagement ring he had placed in her hand a few days ago. It had taken her the rest of that day to come out of her daze, replaying in her mind how he had proposed to her. From all the ways she had ever once wondered how her future husband would propose, she had never imagined that: a) the future husband would be Tony Stark; and, b) the proposal would come in the form of a promise request.

She stared down at the ring, and was surprised to see that it perfectly fit the appropriate finger. She did not know if Tony had had it resized for her, or if his mom and she just happened to wear the same size. Knowing Tony, he probably had borrowed one of her rings to make sure it fit before offering it to her, just to make sure the incorrect size did not deter her from accepting.

"_I know it's sudden, and maybe too soon, but I don't have time to waste anymore. I don't __**want **__to waste my life, or yours."_

_ Waste his life._

In a way, it did feel sudden, seeing as they had been dating for less than two weeks, but if she measured it by the first time they crossed paths and she had found him quite attractive, it was not _that_ sudden. In fact, it was –on average, 8 years late.

The moment he had asked her to consider his proposal, followed by his statement about not wanting to waste either of their lives was the moment she connected his actions with his story. Tony would confess to her the most random thoughts at the most random moments, and his story-telling of Afghanistan had initially seemed just that: a random story at a random time. It turned out that it was not truly accidental; he was trying to tell her he was completely sure about marrying her, and that he hoped she was sure too.

_Marriage? Married to Tony_, she thought, the idea making her giggle. It was true neither of them were getting any younger, especially Tony who was three years older than her, but she had never placed any attention to how old she was getting without settling down; unless, of course, her mother reminded her of the fact over the phone.

She pulled the ring off her finger, and placed it back inside her nightstand, A.K.A. the nightstand that had been Tony's and now belonged to her. She had thought of her answer the moment he had walked out of the room, but her other situation had stopped her from voicing her acceptance. Before she even gave him an answer, she had to make sure she was going to be around long enough to marry him.

_Which reminds me, I need to take the vitamins_, she thought, but then immediately decided against continuing her treatment. It seemed to her that since she had begun taking the vitamins and shots, her condition was worsening instead of slowing down. She knew the treatment was not a cure, but simply just a patch for her symptoms. However, said symptoms were only showing more now, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to hide them from Tony.

_It's only seven more days, I can do it._

With the thought in mind, she crawled under the covers, feeling a much needed nap was in order.

* * *

**A/N: **So, why do I think Tony would react like this to the kiss? Because he was not freaking out after he saw Killian and Pepper doing it in Iron Man 3. Even though the scene was cut, it still happened, and you don't see him angry at her or freaking out by the time he gets to her. So, yes, he may have been pissed off, but since being pissed off hasn't worked well for him, I think he would hold it in until his words got ahead of his brain.

BTW, major props to Faithful Reader Pepper Potts-Stark for correctly guessing the illness! And, don't worry guys, I love Pepperony, too –only topping I have on my pizza! However, I haven't even gotten to the POINT of the story, so….be warned…more tissues will be needed soon.


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Shot out to one of my Faithful Readers: Guest (you didn't leave a name ). Her birthday is on June 29th, which happens to be the day Pepper and Tony go see AC/DC. Happy early birthday!

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**DAY 25**

The living room of Stark Mansion was alive with the sounds of laughter. Happy and Rhodey had stopped by to visit the couple, and as opposed to the last time they visited them, there was more opportunity to relax and talk as the idea of seeing Tony and Pepper in a relationship had already set in.

The four of them sat away from each other, each holding a set of cards in their hands. The coffee table in the middle was littered with personal belongings to represent their bets. So far, Rhodey had lost both shoes, his bracelet and his hat. Happy had lost one shoe, a ring, and his watch. Pepper, had lost her earrings, and her purse, and Tony had lost a watch, a shoe, and his favorite pair of Ray Ban's.

"I can keep my stuff after this is over, right?" The new Head of Security at SI asked, worrying that he would never again see the watch his grandmother had given him for Christmas.

"Yes, Happy, for the millionth time, YES! Now, go! It's your turn to call it!" Tony answered eager to play his hand.

Happy looked down at his cards, knowing he did not have a good hand with him, and shook his head vehemently. "I don't want to."

The other three players groaned, calling him a wuss. Even Pepper was enjoying herself poking fun at the poor man, who was sweating more than a fully clothed Eskimo in the middle of a desert.

"Come on, Happy! What do you have to lose?" the ginger encouraged him.

"My…uh…pride?"

Rhodey laughed. "Why do you make it sound as if it's a question?"

"Because he's not sure if there is any pride left to lose." Tony jested, taking another sip of his scotch before passing it to Pepper, who was beginning to get tipsy as well. She thanked Tony for the gesture, and took a sip herself before returning the glass to her boyfriend.

As soon as Pepper returned her attention to the cards, her cell phone rang. She looked down to her lap and saw her mother was calling, which reminded her she had been avoiding her calls for days. "Ugh, I gotta take this. It's my mom."

Tony's ears perked up at that, remembering the last time she had said her mom was on the line, and it had been none other than Frederick. He gave her a questioning look, which she immediately understood.

"It IS my mom, Tony, unclench," she said to him, leaving her cards face down on the chair as she stood up. She placed her free hand on his shoulder as she walked passed him, and he grabbed it and kissed it before letting her go.

He followed her with his eyes until she disappeared from the living room and walked outside to the balcony to take the call.

"Can you say 'whipped'?" Rhodey asked, clearing his throat afterwards to catch Tony's attention.

"What?"

"Man, do you need my handkerchief? I think you've got a little drool right around here," Happy said, touching his own chin.

"And then give him a little balm to cure the whip marks," Rhodey added.

"What? Why are you calling me whipped?"

"Because, you _are_! Look at you man, you can't stop touching her or looking at her! I've never seen you like this!" Rhodey answered, teasing his friend but also happy to see them so blissful together.

"Well, I…" he began, looking back to stare at Pepper as she rolled her eyes and shook her head at something her mother was telling her over the phone. "Who wouldn't want to stare at her all day?"

Both men whistled in surprise.

"Damn, Tony. You've got it bad!" Rhodey pestered him before leaning over to Pepper's chair and grabbing her cards. Tony tried to stop him but Rhodey had been faster and was already sharing the cards with Happy. "What you need, Hap?"

Happy looked at his cards and then at Pepper's, choosing a couple he needed to have a decent hand. Rhodey took the rest of Pepper's cards, and then placed the low hand back on the chair.

"Hey! Give those back! You can't just take my wife's cards in front of me!" Tony said, trying to reach over to snatch back the cards, not realizing what he had just said.

Rhodey and Happy's eyes widened, staring at each other before staring at Tony who was still trying to recover Pepper's cards.

"Dude…did you just say…'wife'?" Rhodey asked.

"What? Whose wife?" Tony answered, looking as perplexed at his friends looked.

"_YOUR_ wife, apparently. Did you just call Pepper _your_ _wife_?"

"Did I?" He asked back, replaying his words in his head. "I did, didn't I?" he continued as he shrugged and returned his attention to this cards.

"Whoa, hold up! You can't just leave us hanging! Did you two get married?" Happy asked, finally being able to regain his voce after the initial shock. "I thought you said you were just dating."

"We are just dating. I misspoke."

The faces his friends were giving him told him they did not believe a word he had just said.

"I swear," Tony began. "I mean, I did ask her to marry me but she hasn't said yes, yet."

If the human mouth could drop to the floor as comically portrayed in cartoons, Rhodey and Happy's would have done just that.

"You…you _proposed_, Tony? YOU proposed?" Rhodey asked, still in disbelief.

"In not so many words, essentially…yes."

"Did she say 'no'?" Happy inquired.

"No."

"Did she say 'yes'?" Both men asked in unison.

"No."

"So, what did she say?" Happy pressed.

"I…uh…I'm not sure…it wasn't your typical proposal, you can say."

"What do you mean_ not_ your typical proposal? Did you text her? You texted her, Tony, didn't you?" Happy asked, shaking his head, inciting a round of alternating questioning between him and the Colonel.

"NO!"

"Did you leave a note?"

"No."

"Did you leave a voice mail?"

"No!"

"Did you write it on her coffee cup?"

"NO! Hey, that's a good idea!"

"TONY! How did you ask her?"

"I…didn't…"

"Well, what do you know?" Happy said. "That's why you don't have an answer yet, because you_ didn't_ actually ask her!"

"I DID!"

"YOU JUST SAID YOU DIDN'T"!

"Ugh! Just drop it, OK?"

"Drop it? Really?" Rhodey asked. "Just like that? You tell us that you, the famous playboy Tony Stark, proposed to his former assistant and friend, and you expect us to DROP it?"

"Absolutely," Tony deadpanned before returning his attention to his cards at the same moment Pepper was returning from the balcony. The three men became quiet when she approached her chair and picked up her cards, only to realize her upper hand had been stolen from her. She looked up and stared at all three of them, all looking equally guilty of something.

"You guys all suck!" she said as she threw her cards on the coffee table before they all began laughing again.

**DAY 26**

After Pepper had relayed to Tony the horrors the media was coming up with about them, and how her mother had had a difficult time believing Tony was not just stringing her along, the couple had decided to make an appearance at the company to speak with Legal and PR. Even though Pepper no longer worked for the company, her long standing relationship with SI placed her at a special situation when it came to dating Tony. He had reassured her that there was nothing to worry about, but Pepper could not help to think Tony would lose his company to a desperate decision from the board.

The drive to the company had been silent, with the occasional loud sigh coming from Pepper. Tony had driven them both here, and had held her hand as they walked inside the building through the front door. The news that the two of them were present at the company spread like wildfire, and before they knew it, the press was standing outside, trying to get the first pictures of the power couple.

The reporters found them holding hands, walking out of the conference room where Pepper had been guaranteed that her dating Tony was not seen as detrimental for the company and that in fact the Board of Directors was pleased that someone could possibly make an honest man out of their wild CEO.

"I hate pictures," Pepper mumbled, the fake smile never leaving her face as they walked to the front door of SI. Tony chuckled at her obvious discomfort, tugging her closer to him and placing a chaste kiss on her cheek. The reporters were eating it all up, screaming questions about possible marriage, the length of the time they had been dating, and wondering if a baby was on the way.

"They have no life, do they?" Tony whispered to her, holding her close to him as they walked back to their car, security guards making a pathway for them. "They'll move on in a week or two, don't worry, Pep."

"I hope so. My mom is gonna be calling me every day now until it stops being on the news."

"I'm sorry, Honey, but that's what happens when one of the wealthiest men on Earth falls hard for a wonderful woman like you."

Pepper snickered, still amazed at Tony's ability to compliment her whenever he could. He had always been one to pay her compliments, even if they came out sounding more like cheesy pick-up lines, but knowing he meant every word always brought a smile to her face.

"Let's give them something to last the week, Potts," Tony suggested as they stood outside their vehicle.

"Like what?" she hardly had time to ask before Tony pulled her closer to him by placing one hand on her lower back and one behind her neck and kissed her.

Pepper froze for an instant but then melted in his embrace, almost forgetting they had a few dozen reporters flashing their cameras at them.

Once they ended the kiss, Tony gave them his beloved peace sign before opening the door for Pepper and letting her in. He closed the door behind her, rounded the front of the car, and waved at them as he went inside the vehicle himself.

"Tony, you know my dad's gonna watch that, right?"

Tony shrugged, not at all intimidated by the thought. "Oops?" he said before turning on the ignition and speeding away from the parking lot.

**DAY 27**

_"Are you sure, Ginny? You should be following your treatment either way."_ Frederick said, concerned that Pepper was not doing as told.

"I'm sure, Freddie," Pepper responded, locked up inside Tony's bathroom once more as _Days of Our Lives_ played in the background. "The treatment is making the symptoms worse."

_"How can that be? The injections, at least, should slow down the spread."_

"You tell me, you're the doctor."

_"If I knew why or how, I would've cured you eons ago."_

Pepper sighed. "Well, only three more days and I come clean with Tony. I'm sure he'll figure it out."

_"If the symptoms are getting worse with the treatment, then maybe you shouldn't wait until the lab tests are back."_

"Even if I had them back today, I wouldn't tell him. He wants to go to Oakland in two days, and I'm not going to ruin his fun. I can wait."

_ "I don't understand you, Virginia. Why is this man's happiness so important to you, over your own health at that?"_

"Because, Freddie, even as glamorous as his life seems to be, it has been everything but."

_ "Yeah, I'm sure sleeping with a different woman every night isn't glamorous at all."_

"Do you want me to punch you again?" Pepper asked, not wanting to go into detail of why Tony's life had been a difficult one.

_"No, thanks. I've had enough of that for the rest of my life. Why are you bringing it up, anyway? I said I was sorry."_

"Guess I'm just as stubborn as you are. You're lucky all you got was my flimsy punch. Tony found out about it, and if I hadn't asked him to spare you…well…I heard titanium-alloy is hard to crack."

Frederick swallowed hard. He would never admit it to Pepper, or anyone else in order to save face, but he had seen what the armor could do. He did not want to be at the receiving end of a jealous fit coming from Iron Man, and he knew now that chancing a kiss with Pepper was not worth wearing a permanent full-body cast.

"Anyway, I gotta go. I just wanted to let you know what happened so that you can keep it on the records."

_"I'll add it. I'm gonna run your blood sample again against other possible neutralizing agents; see if I can find something stronger for you. Alright?"_

"Alright. Thank you, Freddie."

_"It's nothing, Ginny. Bye."_

**DAY 28**

It was not until late at night that Tony and Pepper had everything they needed for their short trip tomorrow. They had decided to pack a small bag with a change of clothes so that after sweating in the streets of Oakland, they could go to a nearby hotel, shower and change to be fresh for the concert at night. The idea had actually come from Tony, stating the venue was already going to be packed and he wanted to at least start the mosh pit with a clean set of clothes.

Pepper had checked her scars earlier today, and was happy to see they were almost completely gone. Soon she would be able to tell Tony the truth, accept his proposal, and then learn first-hand if his reputation in bed was at all true. Clearly, she loved Tony for Tony and not for his fame, but she could tell that he was getting inpatient with their celibacy when he had resorted to using his porn again.

"I can hear you thinking, Potts," he mumbled to her. The lights were out and they had gone to bed an hour ago, but Pepper could not doze off –erratic sleep patterns were one of the side effects of her disease.

She rearranged her posture so that she was resting higher up on his chest, his arm surrounding her protectively. She wondered if she could ever sleep again without his form next to hers, not knowing at which point his presence in her life had become indispensable.

"Tony, can I borrow your real estate agent?"

"Danny? Yeah," he mumbled, and she wondered if he even knew what he was agreeing to.

"And your movers?"

"Uh-huh," he said with a loud yawn.

"And, I'll like to trade your side of the closet with mine. I like the right side, better."

"Sure, Pep. Whatever you want," he said.

The silence remained for another minute until Tony's eyes snapped open and he looked down at Pepper, wide-eyed and blinking fast.

"Pepper…do you mean…?"

"Maybe. I mean, if you don't mind having me here, permanently."

Tony sat up on the bed, taking Pepper with him and placing his hands on her upper arms. "Are you serious? Don't joke with me, Honey. This is serious shit."

Pepper laughed aloud, shaking her head and lightly smacking his cheek with her hand. "I'm serious, Tony. I kinda like it here. It's definitely calmer than my apartment."

"Pepper…what about…?" he began, wanting to know if her decision to move in with him also meant she was accepting his marriage proposal.

"Let's talk about that one after the concert, OK?"

Tony nodded, unable to come up with any words that did not make him sound desperate. He did not want to read too much into her actions, but it was almost impossible for him to believe moving in together was not a subtle sign that pretty soon he and Pepper would be sharing identical last names.

That night, Tony had the best sleep he had ever had.

**DAY 29**

Pepper felt protected by his embrace, and even though they were not in the middle of a fight or a battle, the raging fans behind them did scare her some. She had never attended a rock concert before, and she had much to learn about concert etiquette. Although they were both standing in the front row of the VIP section, the screaming, the mosh pitting, and the overall craziness of the fans was not far enough from her to not feel helpless and insecure.

Tony, on the other hand, was having a blast. One of his favorite music bands was playing one of his favorite songs. He was standing behind the love of his life, surrounding her with his arms and swinging their hips together at the rhythm of the music. Pepper had agreed to move in with him, and he had the slightest suspicion she was going to accept his marriage proposal tonight. All he needed now was a fucking fairy godmother to feel like Cinderella during the Royal Ball.

_All you women who want a man of the street  
But you don't know which way you wanna turn  
Just keep a coming and put your hand out to me  
'Cause I'm the one who's gonna make you burn_

He sung the lyrics loudly, and Pepper realized he had a very good singing voice. She pressed her back closer to his chest, feeling the arc reactor poking her but not caring about it as long as she felt him near her.

_Shoot to thrill, play to kill  
Too many women with too many pills  
Shoot to thrill, play to kill  
I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will  
Yeah_

Pepper had almost tuned out the music, wanting nothing more than to just let Tony have his fun, when he suddenly let go of her. He grabbed one of her hands and twirled her around so that she faced him, smiling at her with such happiness it made Pepper's heart hurt.

_Yeah, pull the trigger  
Pull it, pull it, pull it, pull the trigger  
Oh_

He threw her left arm behind his shoulders, and linked her right hand in his left. He surrounded her waist with his right arm, and pulled her as close as he could. Pepper was not sure what he was intending to do, but before she knew it, she was following his lead at dancing to a rock song.

_Yeah I'm gonna get you to the bottom and shoot you  
I'm gonna shoot you  
Oh hoo yeah yeah yeah _

He used the short upbeat tempo portion of the song to fast slow-dance with her, twirling her all over the place but never too far from him. He whispered the lyrics to her, rubbing his face on hers, and stroking her hips and legs with his hands. She smiled at him, enjoying his closeness and moves, never until now knowing how sexy and romantic a rock song could be.

_I'm gonna shoot you down yeah yeah  
I'm gonna get you down  
Yeah yeah yeah yeah_

Pepper could tell the end of the song was coming, and she was regretting it coming to an end. His boyish charm and smile had taken her out for a spin, and the proximity to being honest with him was tugging at her, as it reminded her she was going to marry this man. She looked up to see the exact moment he winked at her, and she lost it.

She pulled him down to her, kissing him as if it was the first time they had done so. The music and screams became a blur to them, losing themselves in the exchange and forgetting they were in public. Tony's hands were all over her, inciting in Pepper the need to have him closer, much closer, than their clothes would allow.

_Shoot you, shoot you, shoot you, shoot you down  
Shoot you, shoot you, shoot you down  
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ooooooh  
I'm gonna shoot to thrill  
Play to kill  
Shoot to thrill yeah, ooh yeah_

She broke the kiss only for an instant, needing air in her lungs as much as he did. She took deep breaths, her chest rising and falling in an effort to prepare herself for what was to come.

She pulled him down again, the kiss not lasting as long this time but enjoyable nonetheless. She retracted her face from his just enough to see the desire in his eyes, waiting for her next words.

"Your place, or mine?"

These were the only words Tony needed to grab her hand and run with her, not stopping until they reached the jet, and starting there the first of many encounters of the night.

**DAY 30  
**

Tony awoke with a startle, his nostrils dry as hell. He tried taking a deep breath, but the cold air around him made it difficult. He opened one eye and stared at his alarm clock on the nightstand, the red numbers showing it was past 10 AM.

_That's weird_, he thought, not remembering Jarvis trying to wake him up at 7 AM as he always did. Maybe, by some miracle of artificial intelligence engineering, Jarvis had understood that he and Pepper had returned home late last night, and after hours of tossing under the sheets, they were both too exhausted to get up at normal times.

_Pepper, we…_

He smiled. His overly excited beating heart raised his body temperature at the memories made last night with her, but not enough to kill off the cold. Even as heated as the remembrances of passion between them last night had been, they were not enough to stop his body from shivering.

_Why the hell is the house so cold?_

He looked behind his shoulder, and noticed Pepper was yet to wake up, and after last night, he could not blame her. She was curled up under the covers, the blanket wrapped around her, perhaps also suffering from possible hypothermia as he was right now. He tried going back to sleep, but now that he was painfully aware the house was cold, he could not stop shaking.

_Dammit_, he cursed to himself, slowly getting up from the bed and feeling certain parts of his nude body clinging even closer to him when the full force of the A.C. hit them. He turned back to make sure he had not woken up Pepper with his chattering teeth before bending down and grabbing his jeans.

He put them on, zipped them up, but did not bother to do the button. He was not planning on staying away from their bed for long, hoping to go another round once she woke up. He tiptoed out of the room and down to the living room to check on the thermostat, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets when he saw the current temperature of the house was 48ºF.

_Shit! What the hell?_

"Jarvis," he whispered. "What gives? Heat this place up!"

The usual answer he would have expected from his AI was not heard, puzzling the billionaire. "Jarvis? Can you hear me? Jarvis?"

Silence.

Tony groaned, making his way to the basement to manually override the thermostat setting. If Jarvis was malfunctioning, it did not matter if he tried to change the settings by hand, the temperature would cool again as soon as his hands left the device.

Feeling comfortable enough to speak at a higher volume inside the confines of the basement, Tony raised his voice to get the attention of the AI, asking if he was again using the irony-and-mock code on him, but he received no response.

The concrete floors of the basement were cold as icicles, forcing Tony to try and walk on the edge of his feet.

"JARVIS! What game are you playing? This is not funny! Pepper's fucking cold and so am I!"

Again, his AI did not respond.

"Son of a bitch," Tony mumbled, picking up his pace and reaching the control panel of the house. He input the code and the small cover unlocked, allowing Tony to change the settings of the A.C.'s central unit.

"That outta do it," he said as he walked to the servers to check on his online friend. "Jarvis, wake up. Jarvis?"

When the AI did not respond for the nth time, Tony began wondering if his automated butler's absence was due to something else other than a prank. Had S.H.I.E.L.D. been messing with his protocols again? Did he have to scream at Nick Fury about hacking his system?

Tony scratched the back of his head, eyeing the cables around the server, checking for anything abnormal that would explain why Jarvis was not responding. Maybe he could hear him, but his speakers were burnt?

_No, he would have found a way to talk to me,_ he thought, remembering his last number with the alarm clock.

Growing more curious about this sudden technological hiccup, Tony continued to examine all the cables and servers. It was then that he discovered that Jarvis' main power source was off.

"Ah! This is it!" the billionaire said. He followed the electrical plug to the wall outlet, confirming the machine was indeed connected, just not getting any power. Tony flicked the power button on and off, but there was no change in status.

He stared at it for a minute, reviewing Jarvis's schematics in his brain. He did not immediately find anything unusual with the cables, until he saw the amperage numbers written on them and scoffed.

"Those idiots! I told them I needed a 220 volt current!" he said, remembering how he had insisted to the repairmen to make sure the cables matched the amount of power he needed to run Jarvis's power-hungry servers.

Tony pulled the plug from the socket for one of his other toys which he did not need at the moment, and used the available socket to plug in Jarvis. He waited for a second, hoping the discrepancy of the voltages had not fried his circuits, and was glad to hear him coming back online.

"Loading OS Just a Rather Very Intelligent System, version 17.5.2. Please stand by," said the familiar British voice from the speakers.

Tony walked away from the wall outlet, already thinking how to make the life of the contractor miserable. Even if his basement had been destroyed or impaired at least twice in a month, it was no excuse to mess up the diagrams of his power supplies and risk him losing his valuable AI.

"Greetings, Mr. Stark."

"Hey, Jarvis. How long have you been off?"

"My records show power failure occurred at around 7:15 PM, Pacific Standard Time, on June 29th of the current year."

"Damn, that's a long time to be off. Do a scan of the home; make sure everything else is fine," he said as he double-checked the power cord was intact.

"Home scan is complete. The paramedics have been called to the premises. Although, I doubt there is much they can do."

"Paramedics?" Tony asked, looking up to the ceiling and knotting his brows. "What do we need paramedics for?" he asked, wondering if the power outage had scrambled Jarvis's code.

"My scan shows Ms. Potts is not breathing."

Before his mind could entirely make sense of what Jarvis had said, his legs were already racing, taking him down the hall, up the stairs, across the living room, and up the steps to his bedroom. As soon as he opened the door to their room, he screamed.

"PEPPER? PEPPER!" he said, tripping over their clothes still on the floor as he crawled on the bed. He tried pulling the covers from Pepper, but she would not let them go.

"Pepper, are you alright?" he asked, jumping over her to the floor on her side of the bed.

"Jarvis said…" he began, but the scene cut his words.

On the bed was Pepper, curled up under the covers, lying still, eerily still. If he had not known any better, he would have thought she was awake, since her eyes were open. However, the fact that she was not blinking and she was pale made Tony's body shake.

He swallowed hard, his trembling hands reaching over to her face, which was as cold as ice. He then slid his fingers down to her neck, trying to find a pulse, but it was long gone.

"N-no," he chocked, tears already flowing like rivers. He fell hard to his knees, slowly untangling her stiff limbs so that he could pull the covers. It was then he saw the bruises all over her stomach and torso, clear signs of internal bleeding.

He whimpered, leaning down on her, hoping that with his touch she would return to him, to the land of the living. He grabbed her hands in his and tried to lace them together, but rigor mortis was already setting in.

"Pepper," he called out to her, her name a combination of desperation, disbelief and a sob. "Jarvis…when…how?"

"I'm sorry, sir. Time of death is approximately three hours ago, but it is difficult to say for certain since I'm unaware what temperature the home was at that time. The paramedics are 15 minutes away."

"No…No! NO!" he repeated the word as if it would undo the crude reality. After everything they had gone through, after finally being together, she had just…left. She had left him, alone…again; as alone as he had been when his parents had died.

"Why? I didn't hear her…no! WHY? PEPPER!" he said, kissing her hands and pressing them against his warm face only to feel an object poke his forehead. He pulled away her hands, eyeing her fingers, and it was then he saw what had pinched his face.

It was a ring.

_The_ ring.

The same ring he had given her days ago.

She was wearing it, on her ring finger, on her left hand.

She had agreed. Her answer was yes.

And yet, even though she had accepted his proposal, she was not going to be able to keep her promise; the promise to marry Tony Stark.

* * *

**A/N:** So, I can already sense the glares, and feel the hits of the objects you're sending my way. It sucks, I know. I'm a terrible person, I know. You want to kill me…I _so_ know that.

BUT! Do not despair. This is not the end of the road for them, only of this story. Click the NEXT button to read the Epilogue and find out.


	13. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Three days.

That was the length of time Tony had been living at the cemetery. He had found a decent spot under a tree, next to Pepper's grave, to call home. He had not eaten or drank any fluids since he had carried her coffin from the limousine to her final resting place. He had stood in front of the hole in the ground as the dirt was thrown inside, staring down at the cold mahogany box that now held her body, and kept him from feeling her skin on his.

Three days.

The length of time that had passed since he had met Frederick Richardson in person and since he had almost beaten the living shit out of him. The only thing that had stopped him was his promise to Pepper that he would not kill the guy, even if Tony felt like he somehow deserved it.

"_Tony, calm down! Going to jail for murder is not going to bring her back!"_ Rhodey had told him, pushing him away from an already bleeding Frederick. Tony had landed a good punch in his face before Happy and James had been able to separate the two.

Rhodey was correct. Nothing would ever bring back Pepper, no matter if he killed Frederick, chopped him up in pieces, and threw them from his home balcony to the Pacific Ocean.

She was gone.

He looked down at the papers on his lap; her complete medical history since the Expo, mocking him. Most of the words on the records were foreign to him, as he had only the vaguest knowledge of medical terms. However, he did not need to be a doctor to understand the cause of death determined by the coroner: _massive internal bleeding caused by palladium poisoning._

Palladium poisoning.

Palladium. Poisoning.

In other words: Tony's fault.

Or, at least this was what he believed. If it was not for him, Pepper would have not been exposed to palladium in the first place. The idea was foreign to him as his first arc reactor heart had been. He knew he had been close to dying a similar death, but he had stopped it from occurring. Why did it not occur to him that it had affected those close to him?

Rhodey and Happy had been cleared after detoxing their bodies from the element. Their exposure had not been as daily and extreme as Pepper's had been, so the damage they had received was completely reversible. Unfortunately, Pepper had no such luck.

The constant manipulation of the arc reactor in her hands, its palladium core discharge traces left everywhere around the home, and the fact that she was always exposed to Tony's close contact –sweat, tears, skin, blood…

Kisses…

She had no chance.

Mistaken for bleeding ulcers, acute gastritis, and even stomach cancer, the clock had been ticking for his former assistant, and precious time had been lost. If it had not been for the blood tests they had both underwent after the Expo, she would have not found out her blood was poisoned; she would have not known he was the reason for her slow death. She would have not reached out to Frederick in an attempt to cure herself before Tony found out and felt like shit for poisoning her.

Happy argued the point with Tony, asking him how the hell they were supposed to know Pepper was susceptible to the element. Yes, she was allergic to strawberries, and had a thinner esophagus and stomach lining due to her gastritis, leaving her vulnerable for quick massive bleeding, but how was he supposed to know the palladium was slowly creeping up inside her?

Now that he had thought about it, maybe Happy was correct. Pepper had not complained much about her hands being deep inside his chest when she replaced his Mark I chest piece with the upgraded unit, but the damage was done. She had not seen the traces of palladium she ingested when he cooked for her, or after they had touched each other and she had failed to wash her hands. She had not known that patching him after every mission exposed her to the same danger, mixing fluids together that would have otherwise not reached her delicate skin.

And, most importantly, she had not known that Tony had been using a palladium core since she had gone to her home to get more clothes for their two weeks together. He had only wanted to get practical values for comparison to the new element core, in lieu of having the Mark I chest piece, not accelerate her poisoning every time they kissed, touched, or...

Slept…together…

He had _not_ known.

Frederick had given her months to live, but Tony had narrowed it down to weeks. He had dug her into her grave with every interaction he had with her, especially while wearing the palladium core reactor.

He _should_ have known.

And, she should have told him.

Then again, he knew what it was to see your death coming and wanting nothing more than to spare your loved ones of the terrible news.

He couldn't really blame her for hiding it; she had just taken a page out of his book.

_Pepper, I wasted your life; we ran out of time._

Time to make wedding preparations. Time to see her walk down the aisle to him. Time to start and raise a family together. Time to die next to her, at a very, very, _very old_ age.

Time.

If only he _had_ more time.

Tony closed his eyes, resting his back and head against the tree, inhaling deeply and hoping it took less than seven days for the body to die of starvation. He could not wait to see her again, touch her, hug her, and tell her they had all the time in the world, even if just in the afterlife.

Time.

If only he could go back in time.

Tony's eyes snapped open. He pulled his head down in deep thought, his mind racing with the possibilities.

Time.

Back in time.

Time machine.

_Oh, my God!_

Tony scrambled to his feet, medical records in hand. He ran to Pepper's gravestone, kneeling in front of it with tears in his eyes, and placed a hand on its edge.

"Pepper, you just wait and see. I'm getting you back. I'm getting you back."

He kissed his palm and then transferred the kiss to her grave. After one last glance at the marker, Tony Stark stood up and ran out of the cemetery, heading directly to the floor in SI where he knew he would find the progress of _Project Doc Brown_.

* * *

**A/N:** So…yeah…this was the original idea of this story. EVERYTHING I've written for this story was leading to this. Some of you may be turned off by the idea of bringing in more science fiction to a normal story, but let's face it, if we are all here writing FAN FICTION, perhaps our last concern is with living in the real world, right? *bats eyes*

For the record, palladium poisoning was common last century, as palladium was used to create dental implants for the longest time, until it was discovered that it had terrible side-effects. I have used some of them here, and some I added for the sake of creative license. Even though it took Tony a few months to figure out he was being poisoned, the blood toxicity accelerated like crazy during the events of IM2, which supposedly took place in only a week. When we see him behind the stage at the Expo, the toxicity reading is 19%; then it's 24% before Pepper walks in pissed off that he donated the Modern Art collection to the Boy Scouts of America, which is just three days after his initial reading of 19%, according to the countdown of the Expo shown on his television at the lab (yes, I'm THAT obsessed). He then performs another reading in Monaco, and it turns out the toxicity level is at 53%. On the day of his birthday, he's at 89%, and the screen also reads "Last 7 days." The poison was moving pretty fast, and he was not even using the suit_ that_ much during this time.

Anyway, I'm going to give this story a rest for now, and work on my other Iron Man fic _Man in a Can_. I have neglected it for two weeks, and my readers there also deserve an update. I will work non-stop on MIC, and once that is done, I will come back to write the sequel of 30 Days. If you need something to hold on to, go read MIC, and don't forget to subscribe for updates so that when the sequel to 30 Days comes around, you're ready to continue the roller coaster with me.

I can't thank you all enough for reading and reviewing, and I sincerely hope to see you following our favorite couple throughout their time adventure. In the end, my favorite couples always end up together, no matter what. I hope I didn't offend anyone with my Joker-review speech, it was merely an observation on my part :D


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